Boxoffice > The Business of Movies

UPDATED: Anticipating 'Harry Potter 6'

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:57:36 -0800

Thursday Morning Update (7:57 a.m. PT): As of 7 a.m. PT, Fandango.com is reporting a considerable amount of online interest in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Nearly 500 showtimes are already sold out, and the film currently represents 65% of sales on the site.

Half-Blood Prince is the fastest-selling title of the year for Fandango.com, and it's also selling twice the amount of tickets as the last Harry Potter film at the same point in the sales cycle.

Wednesday Afternoon Update (1:36 p.m. PT): As of 1:30 p.m. PT, MovieTickets.com is reporting 350 sold-out performances worldwide for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, including 216 sold-out midnight showings in the U.S. alone. The sixth installment in the popular wizard franchise is currently responsible for 61% of sales on the ticketing site.

Tuesday Afternoon Update (4:42 p.m. PT): Fandango.com is reporting that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has already sold out 300 showings. Additionally, as of 4 p.m. PT the sixth installment in the popular series is responsible for 60% of sales on the ticketing site.

Tuesday Morning Update (6:39 a.m. PT): Fandango.com is reporting that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is now responsible for 61% of daily sales. The Warner Bros. release is outpacing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the same point in the sales cycle.

According to an ongoing Fandango survey of more than 3,000 moviegoers planning to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

85% of respondents have read all seven of the Potter books.
84% would be interested in visiting Potter locations from the new film.
80% would buy a ticket to a Daniel Radcliffe movie in which he doesn’t play Harry Potter.
73% are fine with the fact that the last Potter story will be split into two separate movies.
38% say that Half-Blood Prince’s positive advance reviews and Internet buzz are the main factor driving them to buy tickets in advance.

Monday Afternoon Update (3:34 p.m. PT): As of 3:33 p.m. PT, Fandango.com is reporting that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is responsible for 51% of daily sales.

Thursday Afternoon Update (3:09 p.m. PT): Fandango.com is reporting that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is selling twice as many tickets as 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the same point in the sales cycle.

Wednesday Afternoon Update (5:01 p.m. PT): The same moviegoers who are currently following the adventures of a bunch of fighting robots will soon be checking in with their favorite boy wizard.

Two weeks from now, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will try to edge past Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as the most successful film of the summer. That will be no small task considering that Revenge of the Fallen has only been a step or two behind The Dark Knight since opening on June 24.

The Harry Potter movies are growing progressively darker as the saga moves closer to its conclusion, which will be spread out over two films to be released in November 2010 and July 2011.

Yet the darker tone may be helping to expand the Potter following rather than shrinking it. Despite being slapped with the first PG-13 rating of the series, 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix grabbed $292 million domestically, which, without adjusting for inflation, was the highest tally since the first adaptation, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. When adjusting for inflation, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the second-highest grossing film of the series behind Sorcerer's Stone.

"We're seeing Harry Potter show strength with the under-25 crowd, both males and females," says John Singh, spokesperson for Flixster, an online movie community with 20 million unique users per month. "But just as the movies are growing up, we're also seeing that the over-25 audience is definitely becoming engaged. So the movies are probably attracting a slightly older audience as the characters grow older and they get a little darker and more serious."

Early online sales for Half-Blood Prince are quite promising in the face of Transformers 2, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Public Enemies. MovieTickets.com is reporting that Half-Blood Prince is currently outpacing four of the five previous Potter films at the same point in the sales cycle. The sequel it isn't beating is Goblet of Fire. According to Fandango, as of 12 p.m. PT on Wednesday Half-Blood Prince was responsible for 22% of daily sales, which is an impressive number that is bound to increase significantly as the release date nears.

The long-term prospects for Half-Blood Prince also look promising. July is filled with releases aimed mainly at adult audiences such as The Ugly Truth and Funny People. Truth and Disney's G-Force open the weekend after Potter 6, and G-Force won't hit nearly as many demographics as the boy wizard will. Not until G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra opens on August 7 will Half-Blood Prince face a threat for the attention of teenage moviegoers.

It's a safe bet that the latest installment in the series will spend two weekends on top of the box office before continuing to do well during what it shaping up to be a traditionally lackluster month of August. Watch out, Optimus Prime.

UPDATED: Weekend Predictions

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:48:00 -0800

Thursday Morning Update (7:48 a.m. PT): As of 7 a.m. PT, Fandango.com is reporting a surge in ticket sales for Brüno. Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy is now responsible for 19% of sales on the ticketing site.

Wednesday Afternoon Update (7:33 p.m. PT): This weekend, Sacha Baron Cohen will try to repeat the success of Borat while director Chris Columbus, a former protege of John Hughes, will try to successfully return to his roots with the teen comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper. Both films won't have it easy considering that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs are still going strong.

Universal is set to release Brüno at more than 2,900 locations, while Fox Atomic is sending Beth Cooper out to around 1,900 locations. Final location counts are due Thursday afternoon.

"This weekend’s two new movies are definitely split among gender lines—male audiences are leaning toward Brüno and females are preferring Beth Cooper," says John Singh, spokesperson for Flixster, an online movie community with 20 million unique users per month. "The big post-Fourth of July fireworks look like they’ll come next week with Harry Potter, and this weekend looks to be slightly sedate from a box office standpoint."

Fandango.com is reporting that Brüno is responsible for 10% of daily ticket sales as of 4 p.m. PT. Meanwhile, MovieTickets.com is reporting that as of 2 p.m. PT Brüno boasts 8% of daily ticket sales, putting it behind Tranformers 2, Harry Potter 6 and Ice Age 3.

Universal's marketing blitz has been strong for Brüno. Everything from theatrical trailers to television spots have emphasized the fact that the film is from the same actor responsible for Borat, which was a $128.5 million domestic hit for 20th Century Fox back in 2006.

The controversy surrounding Brüno as well as the trust that Baron Cohen has earned should easily push the film past Transformers 2 and Ice Age 3. Expect the mocumentary to grab around $33 million during its debut frame.

Without the presence of any major stars, Beth Cooper will need to rely on word of mouth in order to become a major hit. The fact that it's opening at less than 2,000 locations will hinder it right out of the gate. Still, the PG-13 comedy should be able to grab a decent amount of teenage patrons who have already seen Transformers 2 a couple of times. Beth Cooper may earn around $7 million this weekend.

Even though it was ultimately topped by Transformers 2 last weekend, Ice Age 3 will probably finish in second place considering that the weekend's two new major releases are not the least bit family friendly. Transformers 2 will finish in a not-too-distant third place.

Check back tomorrow for our top 10 predictions as well as official location counts.

Additional reporting by Daniel Garris.

Ross to Rewrite 'Spider-Man 4'

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:38:20 -0800

Source: THR

Writer-director Gary Ross has been booked to rewrite the script for Columbia’s Spider-Man 4, the next installment in Sam Raimi’s lucrative comic book franchise.

The initial draft for the film was penned by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) and David Lindsay-Abaire (Inkheart). Ross, widely known for his work on Seabiscuit in 2003, wrote screenplays for comedies like Big and Dave before taking the director’s chair for Pleasantville in 1998.

Spider-Man 3 grossed $885 million worldwide two summers ago, while the previous two Spidey flicks combined to reel in over $1.6 billion earlier in the decade.

Davis Set to Play Clinton

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:36:35 -0800

Source: THR

In the film The Special Relationship, the role of Hillary Clinton was expected to be handled by Julianne Moore.

However, scheduling conflicts soon proved problematic.

Due to Moore's previous commitment to the film The Kids Are All Right, the role of Hillary Clinton will instead be handled by Hope Davis, who starred in HBO's In Treatment and the film About Schmidt, which grossed $65 million domestically.

The HBO Films/BBC Flims produced project will chronicle the relationship between former U.S. president Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the 1990s. It is the second film to chronicle the lives of the Clintons, with the first being Primary Colors, a thinly-veiled Clinton biopic that grossed $41.1 million worldwide. In that film, Emma Thompson portrayed the former president's steadfast wife.

The HBO Films/BBC Films project also has Dennis Quaid playing former president Clinton and Michael Sheen portraying the former Prime Minister.

The project was expected to mark the directorial debut of Peter Morgan, but he pulled out, and now Richard Loncraine is assuming directorial responsibility.

Lawrence and Smith Circling New Project

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:20:46 -0800

Source: THR

Veteran director Francis Lawrence may be poised to reteam with actor Will Smith on the upcoming 20th Century Foxproject The City That Sailed. The director is currently developing the project, with hopes to direct this story of a street magician and his daughter living in Britain. Smith’s Overlook production company is also at work on the pic.

Lawrence and Smith’s last time working together was the hit I Am Legend, which scored more than $256 million in ticket sales domestically. Lawrence is also currently at work on Water for Elephants for Fox.

Smith is slated to appear in an American remake of the Korean hit Old Boy and is also developing a reboot of the family classic The Karate Kid starring his son Jaden.

Shields to Seek 'Vengeance'

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:03:43 -0800

Source: THR

Brooke Shields is set to return to big screen after a 10-year hiatus, having focused the majority of her efforts on the small screen and live audiences.

Shields, known for her roles in Lipstick Jungle and Broadway performances such as A Wonderful Town, is set to star in Summit and Participant Media's family comedy Furry Vengeance.

Dick Van Dyke, Samantha Bee and Ken Jeong will also appear in the film, with Brendan Fraser taking the lead role. Vengeance centers on a real estate developer who is challenged by a group of raccoons when he tries to move onto their territory.

Shield's last big-screen effort was James Toback's film Black and White, which grossed $5.24 million domestically. She was also in the Oscar-nominated films The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love.

Shields recently made the news for her eulogy at Michael Jackson's funeral.

Selling 'Basterds'

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:53:10 -0800

Fans at Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Las Vegas are going to get something more than a furious display of feet and fisticuffs.

The pay-per-view event will feature footage from Inglourious Basterds, the upcoming Quentin Tarantino war film starring Brad Pitt as the head of a Nazi-busting unit.

Basterds, a period piece inspired by the 1970s movie of the same name - but different spelling—will be advertised in the ring and on a billboard in the Las Vegas arena hosting the fights.

Clearly, The Weinstein Company is directly targeting action fans, but is that the right way to approach a dialogue-heavy film featuring unfamiliar faces and stretches spoken in different languages?

Stephen Garrett, co-founder of Kinetic Trailers, says the film has plenty of the elements required for a crackerjack marketing campaign, from Adolf Hitler going apoplectic to Pitt’s ornery speech about collecting Nazi scalps.

But a certain amount of bait and switch may be in order when it comes to marketing these Basterds.

“The teaser doesn’t make it look like it’s a foreign language film,” Garrett says. “But the movie has as many as four different languages and a lot of subtitles.”

Tarantino hasn’t worked with a star like Brad Pitt before, an actor at the peak of his fame. Typically, the director tries to resuscitate the careers of older stars (John Travolta, Pulp Fiction) or works with unknowns (Zoey Bell from Death Proof). But even that potential draw has a downside.

“I was surprised how little Brad Pitt is in the movie. It’s only a supporting role,” says Garrett, who saw a cut of the film at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Comic actor Mike Myers of Wayne’s World fame also appears in the film, but only for a few minutes and in a straight role.

Audiences know Tarantino as much for his action-soaked films as his penchant for wry dialogue. But Basterds plays up the latter far more than the former. Garrett says working in several languages cut down on the excessive chatter but the bulk of the action won‘t be seen on screen.

Tarantino’s breakout hit Reservoir Dogs featured a bank job the audience never got a chance to witness.

“[Basterds] is an ambitious, sophisticated film and people are expecting something different, this band of American soldiers going around killing Nazis,” he says. “That happens off screen.”

Basterd’s release date—August 21—may offer its own rewards for the studio.

“August can play toward a more adult action film,” he says. “If they can get people in the seats with the anticipation of seeing a lot of violence, then you’ll have a good opening.”

Larry Collins, vice president of film with Carmike Cinemas, thinks the twin appeal of Tarantino and Pitt should be enough to woo younger audiences on opening weekend.

Collins did his own market research to explain why.

“I can go by my son who is 23 and loves Tarantino movies. Brad Pitt and Tarantino are major selling points,” Collins says.

Moore's Releasing 'A Love Story'

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:05:30 -0800

Source: Variety

After weeks of speculation and anticipation, Michael Moore has officially released the name of his newest documentary. Titled Capitalism: A Love Story, the film will explore the factors that led up to the worldwide economic slide of the past year and is scheduled to come out in early October.

Known for his controversial and probing documentaries, Moore’s last feature was 2007’s Sicko, which took an in-depth look at health care systems around the globe and grossed a profitable $24 million domestically. Moore’s 2004 documentary about the Bush Presidency and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Fahrenheit 9/11, was the first and only documentary to gross past the $100 million mark, boasting grosses of $119 million domestically.

Fly Me to the Moon

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:18:22 -0800

So this morning I happened to be browsing the estimable Turner Classic Movies website, and I noticed that later this month -- July 20th, to be precise -- they're celebrating the 40th anniversary of the moon landing with a bunch of flicks about the exploration of space. A cool idea, I think you'll agree, and I was pleased to learn that along with some obvious choices -- The Right Stuff, Melies' A Trip to the Moon, and (my personal favorite) Ray Harryhausen's First Men in the Moon -- they were airing the interesting 1960 B-obscurity Twelve to the Moon. In case you haven't seen that one, it features an international team of astronauts (a tad Star Trek-ish, that) who drop in on the lunar surface only to find that there's a super-intelligent alien already there that thinks humanity is immature and dangerous and has to be eliminated. Typical low budget mishegass of the period, obviously, but it's actually quite a bit better than you'd expect, thanks to an interesting script by De Witt Bodeen (a Val Lewton horror film alumnus who also co-wrote Billy Budd)and elegant black-and-white cinematography by the legendary John Alton (who was shooting Elmer Gantry at more or less the same time). It's not on video at the moment, so set your DVRs for 11:30am accordingly. You're welcome.

Oh, and did I mention that the always amusingly monikered silent movie leading man Francis X. Bushman is in there too?

But I digress.

In any case, I was, however, saddened to see that the fine folks at Turner would NOT (understandably, I guess) be running a certain paranoid conspiracy space travel thiller from 1978 as part of the celebration.

I refer, of course, to Peter Hyams' delightfully silly Capricorn One.

The plot, for those who've missed it up till now:

Three astronauts -- James Brolin, Sam Waterston and (lord help us) O.J. Simpson -- think they've been selected as the crew for NASA's first Mars landing. But just as they're about to take off, government agents wisk them away; turns out that NASA, afraid of a failure that might cost the space program its funding, has sent the Mars-bound vessel up empty while the hapless astronauts sit on a movie soundstage pretending to be in outer space for the benefit of TV news cameras. Unfortunately the real Mars ship crashes on arrival, leaving investigative reporter Elliott Gould, who's smelled a rat all along, in a race against time to prevent the fiendish space agency from offing the hapless astronauts and covering up the conspiracy.

Here's the trailer to give you a little idea.

Obviously, this was inspired, if that's the word, by the similar urban myths about the original moon landing (which were believed by the usual crackpot percentage of the American public who now believe that President Obama doesn't have a birth certificate because he's actually from the planet Apokolips or some such taurean fecal matter). In any case, Hyams plays it all quite gratifyingly straight, and if you can get past the obvious retroactive casting problem, it's a fun ride overall. As I said, TCM isn't running it during the Moon Landing celebration, but it's part of their collection and they do show it from time to time; I'll keep you posted.

Bottom line: You can -- and definitely should -- order the DVD here.

Assuming it actually exists, of course. Which is what they WANT you to think...

Thousands of Fans Come Together in 24 States to Attend Cinedigm Live Broadcast to Theatres of Michael Jackson’s Memorial

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:02:07 -0800

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. (Cinedigm) (NASDAQ: CIDM) announced today that thousands of fans turned out to theatres around the country to view the Michael Jackson Memorial Service via live feed direct from the Staples Center on Tuesday, July 7. A total of 47 Cinedigm-certified theatres carried the broadcast with ten of those coming online within hours of its commencement due to the last minute nature of the event.

“Without the permission of AEG Network Live and the Jackson family we could not have brought this historic event to fans to share in in a supportive and comforting atmosphere almost as if they were in the Staples Center. We thank them for allowing us to provide this beautiful tribute in a way we hope properly honored the King of Pop,” said Bud Mayo, Cinedigm’s chairman and CEO. “I am especially proud of both the tech and entertainment teams at Cinedigm as well as our exhibitor partners for making this possible in literally 24 hours.”

“The beauty of digital cinema is that it allows for creative use like this,” said Jonathan Dern, president of Cinedigm’s Entertainment Group. “Certainly events like today’s are few and far between, but the future of theatres as a venue for bringing other live and unique events is bright. Cinedigm looks forward to bringing more of them to and increasing number of locations around the country through our CineLive™ network.”

Fans in theatres offering the live broadcast all over the country embraced the sense of community created in each location and were seen clapping, singing along and dancing in the aisles as they celebrated Jackson and his life’s work. A woman attending a theatre in Manhattan was overheard saying she had left work early because she “wanted to come to this theatre to be with other fans to really experience the event.”

Another woman stated, “I grew up with Michael Jackson and felt like I knew him. Being here and seeing [his memorial] live on the big screen makes this special event even more meaningful.”

A third fan said he was floored by the incredible image quality saying, “It makes me feel like I’m at the Staples Center right now.”

Tom Stephenson, CEO of Rave Motion Pictures, one of the theatre chains that carried the event, said, “we were thrilled that Cinedigm was able to react quickly to the opportunity for us to bring this to Rave theatres. Attendance was strong and the audience was very appreciative. Some audience members indicated that it made them feel like they were right in the Staples Center.”

‘Ice Age 3’ #1, ‘Transformers 2’ Hits $300 Million

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:11:42 -0800

For the third time in the past four days, Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs led the daily box office. The computer animated sequel grossed $7.08 million on Tuesday, which was up a healthy 7 percent over Monday. After a slower than expected start over the holiday weekend, Ice Age 3 has held up nicely each of the past two days. Ice Age 3 grossed $80.42 million in its first week in theatres, which places the film just 2 percent behind the pace of 2006’s Ice Age: The Meltdown.

Paramount’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen crossed the $300 million mark yesterday, making it the first release of 2009 to do so. Transformers 2 reached the milestone in just 14 days, which made it the second fastest film in history to reach $300 million (last July The Dark Knight hit $300 million in 10 days). However, the film’s daily gross of $5.76 million represented a 10 percent slide from Monday. That was easily the day’s largest daily decline among wide releases and marked a 57 percent decrease from last Tuesday. Transformers 2 is currently running 33 percent ahead of 2007’s Transformers, but was running 38 percent ahead of Transformers through Sunday.

Universal’s Public Enemies held steady in third place with $3.38 million for the day. The gangster film from director Michael Mann was down 4 percent from Monday. One week into its theatrical run, Public Enemies has displayed neither strong nor poor holding power thus far. Public Enemies has grossed $47.06 million in seven days and will hit the $50 million mark either today or tomorrow.

The Proposal experienced yet another strong daily hold on Tuesday. The romantic comedy from Disney was up 12 percent from Monday and down just 26 percent from last Tuesday. The Proposal has grossed $98.93 million through 19 days and will cross the $100 million mark today, making it the first Sandra Bullock film to do so since 2000’s Miss Congeniality.

The Hangover rounded out the day’s unchanged top five. Warner’s surprise blockbuster was down 1 percent from Monday and down 29 percent from last Tuesday. With a 33-day total of $208.97 million, The Hangover is currently the fourth highest grossing film of the year domestically.

Fellow Warner Bros. release, My Sister’s Keeper, was up a healthy 12 percent from Monday to remain in sixth place. The Nick Cassavetes directed film has grossed $29.20 million in 12 days, with 38 percent of the film’s grosses having been earned from Monday through Thursday business thus far.

Maguire Pays Attention to 'Details'

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:00:28 -0800

Source: Variety

Alongside rising starlet Elizabeth Banks, Tobey Maguire will headline the independent comedy The Details, written and directed by Jacob Estes. Production is scheduled to begin next month.

The film, also starring Ray Liotta and Dennis Haysbert, follows a dysfunctional married couple (Maguire and Banks) whose problems are intensified by a family of troublesome raccoons that find a home in their backyard.

Details will be the second collaboration between Maguire and Banks—they both starred in Gary Ross’s Oscar-nominated Seabiscuit, which grossed $120 million domestically in 2003, around $143 million when adjusted for inflation.

Maguire will appear in Jim Sheridan’s upcoming war drama titled Brothers, set for a December 4 release date. It will be Maguire’s first feature gig since Spider-Man 3 in 2007.

McG's 'Leagues' Brings Writer Aboard

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:13:00 -0800

Source: THR

Veteran screenwriter Randall Wallace has been announced as the scribe for Disney’s upcoming version of Jules Verne’s classic novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Disney has already signed director McG to helm the adventure flick.

Wallace is perhaps best known to audiences for his screenplay for 1995’s Braveheart, which went on to gross $204 million worldwide. He is also scheduled to work with Disney and Diane Lane on the upcoming family drama Secretariat, taking the director’s chair for the first time.

McG’s past credits include 2006’s drama We Are Marshall and this year’s Terminator Salvation, both of which failed to generate buzz at the box office, grossing only $43.5 and $123 million at domestic theaters, respectively.

The Sound of Music

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:07:14 -0800

Say what you will about a culture in which a blockbuster film about giant talking General Motors cars from outer space (a sequel, no less) captivates our noble Republic, but if you go to the movies a lot, you may have noticed that we don't exactly live in a Golden Age of Orchestral Film Music. In fact, it is ineluctable fact that most recent orchestral movie scores suck, loudly, and yes, I'm talking to you, Transformers composer Steve Jablonsky, a nose to the ground hack who to be fair is hardly the worst of the current breed. I should also note that a rare exception to the above rule is the wonderful Michael Giacchino, whose for want of a better word Post-Modern chamber orchestra music for TV's Lost probably contributes about sixty percent of the creepiness factor to that show's eerie island adventures, and who has done equally effective big screen work this year for the animated Up and the reboot of Star Trek.

And with that little rant out of the way, here's a little compare and contrast exercise involving film music that you might get a kick out of; I know I did.

We begin with a scene from a newly restored version of the 1984 restoration of Fritz Lang's 1927 silent sci-fi classic Metropolis, originally supervised (and with a percolating synth score) by disco producer Giorgio Moroder.

Not bad, right? And certainly better than some of the other scenes from the Moroder restoration, which featured crappy vocal rock music from the likes of Bonnie Tyler and Jon Anderson of Yes.

Now take a look at footage from the same scene, this time cut (by indie filmmaker Robert Valding) to the spooky modal strains of "Calvary Cross," pretty much my favorite (and certainly the most doom haunted) song from Brit folk-rocker Richard Thompson's incomparable 1974 album I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight.

I don't know about you guys, but I'd pay good money to see some other scenes from Lang's masterpiece set to Thompson songs.

Incidentally, that restored Moroder footage is NOT currently available on commercial DVD. It is, to my surprise, the work of a fan with a lot of time on his hands and a website, and you can see more of their unofficial collaboration here.

And I would be remiss if I didn't add that the so far definitive restored Metropolis -- done for Kino Video in 2003 -- is, fortuitously, still available on DVD and features the original 1927 orchestral score by Gottfried Huppertz, which is superb. But a more complete print of the film was discovered last year (I wrote about it here) and if there's a film god in heaven, the newly refurbished film will be on Blu-ray before the decade is out. We'll keep you posted.

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:42:43 -0800

Director Chris Columbus’ new high school comedy is about a boy (Paul Rust) who uses his opportunity as class valedictorian to say the one thing he’s always wanted to say to the one girl (Hayden Panettiere) he never had the guts to say it to. I Love You, Beth Cooper poses an interesting question, but it’s a question that Columbus doesn’t seem to notice. Instead, this one time protégé of director John Hughes recycles a number of youth movie antics from the ’80’s, some of which he himself exploited in films he made during the 1980’s, including Adventures in Babysitting (1987) and Home Alone (1990). None of this dusty clowning has any place in a modern movie, whether it’s pandering to contemporary teenagers or former teenagers with delusional memories about their randy high school days. To that end, one is hard pressed to sort out the audience for this high school romp and doubts the box office will find one either.

The question is—what might happen if on the last day of school the class geek (aka: valedictorian) stood before the entire student body and faculty and told everyone what he thought of them—and then declared his love for the girl he’s been sitting behind in classes since middle-school? This is an interesting question and the film sets it up nicely before it goes on to ignore it completely. Answering this question might have provided any number of interesting directions for a film such as this, but the filmmakers behind I Love You, Beth Cooper preferred the insights gained when people fall out of windows, get punched by angry ex-boyfriends, hit by cars, step in cow poo, or have their underwear revealed for the most nonsensical of reasons. Most of these third rate gags are done badly at that. The fault here lies wholly with the writer, the producers and the director. The screenwriter, Larry Doyle, is adapting the script from his novel, the success of which is hard to imagine given the film’s dullness. Though one understands the desire to return to one’s roots, root rot is always a consideration. Here, not only has the material outgrown its relevance, the filmmakers are remembering it wrong. High school wasn't all that angsty or lusty for most of us.

In any case, all of that was once fodder for the high school comedies of the ’80's and even the ’90's, and that's where it should probably stay.

Distributor: Fox Atomic
Cast: Hayden Panettiere, Paul Rust, Jack Carpenter, Lauren London and Lauren Storm
Director: Chris Columbus
Screenwriter: Larry Doyle
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus and Mark Radcliffe
Genre: Comedy
Rating: Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, some teen drinking and drug references, and brief violence.
Running Time: 102 min
Release date: July 10, 2009

Weather Girl

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:59:54 -0800

There’s a reason local TV weather people in meteorologically predictable cities are either A.) wacky or B.) gorgeous. The residents of, let’s say, Phoenix are fairly confident it’ll be hot this summer, so someone wacky or gorgeous is required to entertainingly convey something they already know. And that brings us to Weather Girl, a romantic comedy that tells us things we already know. Unfortunately, the film can’t find an unpredictable or surprising way to do it. The best thing about Weather Girl, which is written and directed by Blayne Weaver, is the spirited and engaging lead performance by Tricia O’Kelley as a Seattle weather anchor with a stormy career and personal life. But the broad performances, standard plotting and mild smiles recall a pleasantly predictable cable movie. And appropriately enough, the film has been picked up for an October 2009 airing on Lifetime, where its bubbly blandness will play most effectively.

Every weekday sassy weather girl Sylvia Miller (O’Kelley) appears on the local Seattle morning news and announces to residents that it’s going to rain. But on this day’s report, Sylvia goes on a foul-mouthed, career-destroying rampage directed at boyfriend Dale Waters (Mark Harmon, wisely underplaying the part), a “walking haircut” who happens to be the show’s anchor and who also happens to be cheating on Sylvia with his co-anchor. Instantly fired, Sylvia begins a downward spiral that finds her sleeping on the couch of slacker brother Walt (Ryan Devlin). An unsympathetic and sarcastic man-child, Walt engages in behavior that never rings true (Weaver’s lame shortcut to making Walt totally slacker-awesome is having him wear John Belushi’s “college” t-shirt from Animal House. But “college” is misspelled, presumably to avoid rights payments). His first brotherly act is to post Sylvia’s televised meltdown on the internet and Sylvia, although this is 2009, is surprised that her antics would be seen by others. Branded an unemployable joke she’s reduced to working as a waitress, which is about as realistic as it sounds.

One thing about romantic comedies is that they’re sincere. If they’re cheesy, they fully invest and believe in the power of love, even when expressed through cheesiness. Weather Girl cannot be sincere while at the same time pitching itself to the cheap seats. The story feels mechanical, phony and arch. The only hint of reality is Sylvia’s concern about her age. She’s none too happy being an unemployed 35 year old living with her brother. Her Greek chorus of girlfriends try to improve her dating life by setting her up with an accountant named Charles (Jon Cryer), but he's is a near-pathological straight arrow whose life is planned out so thoroughly that his kids have been pre-named Lucius and Ariel. There is, however, one more option. In classic sitcom fashion, Walt has a friendly neighbor who barges through the front door whenever necessary. He’s Byron and he’s about six years Sylvia’s junior (another lame shortcut to Funny Street: give youthful characters quirky names like Byron, Walt and, later, Irving). Another wacky slacker, Byron (Patrick J. Adams) is a website designer and self-described “great rebound guy,” a talent that Sylvia eventually and reluctantly avails herself of.

Weather Girl’s low budget may excuse the occasionally underlit photography and bland score, but it can’t excuse its predictability and lack of authenticity. Walt and Byron are silly and CW-thin so they can’t be taken seriously, giving Sylvia no one substantial to bounce her frustrations off (Paul Rudd would have made Walt into something way more interesting). This is especially vexing when we’re supposed to consider Byron a contender for the happy-ending boyfriend. His competition, though, is Dale. When Dale and the station re-hire Sylvia to co-host a George and Alana-style morning bicker-fest, we’re supposed to hope she doesn’t make the same mistake twice. But since neither men are gems, Sylvia should really go where the money is. It may not be romantic but with Washington State’s unemployment at 9.2%, it would be the most truthful thing the movie had to offer.

Distributor: Secret Identity
Cast: Tricia O’Kelley, Patrick J. Adams, Ryan Devlin, Mark Harmon and Jon Cryer
Director/Screenwriter/Producer: Blayne Weaver
Producers: Steak House and Patricia O’Kelley
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Rating: R for language.
Running time: 93 min
Release date: July 10 LA

‘Ice Age 3’ Leads on Monday

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:22:58 -0800

After having to settle for a disappointing second place performance over the weekend, Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs led the way on Monday. The third installment in the computer animated franchise grossed $6.61 million for the day, which represented a solid 50 percent decrease from Sunday. Ice Age 3 has grossed $73.34 million through six days of release, placing it 7 percent behind the pace of 2006’s Ice Age: The Meltdown. Ice Age 3 could, and needs to, hold up well between now and July 15th, when Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince opens in theatres.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen fell to second place on Monday. The blockbuster sequel from Paramount and DreamWorks grossed $6.41 million for the day, as it trailed Ice Age 3 by just $201,973. Transformers 2 was down 53 percent from Sunday and down a steep 57 percent from last Monday. Although the film isn’t holding up especially well, it has grossed an impressive $299.76 million in 13 days, meaning it will pass the $300 million mark today. Transformers 2 is now running 34 percent ahead of 2007’s Transformers.

Public Enemies remained in third place for the day with $3.53 million. Universal’s gangster film starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale was down 57 percent from Sunday. That represented the day’s sharpest daily decline among wide releases. The six-day gross for Public Enemies stands at $43.68 million, which is on the lower-end of pre-release expectations.

Disney’s The Proposal continued to hold up extremely well on Monday. The romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds was down 47 percent from Sunday and down only 21 percent from last Monday. The Proposal has grossed $96.51 million in 18 days and will likely pass the $100 million mark on Wednesday.

Holding up nearly as well was fellow comedy The Hangover. The Warner Bros. release was down a similar 50 percent from Sunday and down 23 percent from last Monday. The film’s 32-day total stands at $207.02 million, meaning it will pass the $209.22 million gross of 2005’s Wedding Crashers either today or tomorrow.

Warner’s My Sister’s Keeper finished in sixth on Monday. The drama starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin fell sharply over the weekend, but rebounded very nicely yesterday with a daily slide of just 37 percent from Sunday. My Sister’s Keeper has grossed $27.78 million in 11 days and should continue to see solid midweek business for a bit longer.

Madsen Pairs with Spacey for 'Invention'

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:19:02 -0800

Source: Variety

Virginia Madsen has signed on to costar with Kevin Spacey in Trent Cooper’s upcoming Father of Invention.

The film places Madsen and Spacey in a contentious marriage after Spacey, a billionaire inventor, is released from prison only to find his wife (Madsen) remarried.

Invention also stars Heather Graham (The Hangover), Craig Robinson (Pineapple Express) and Camilla Belle (10,000 BC). The project marks Cooper’s second directorial project—he helmed 2006’s Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, which grossed just $15.7 million domestically.

Madsen recently appeared in The Haunting of Connecticut, a March release that totaled $55.3 million domestically. Spacey’s voice can currently be heard in Duncan Jones’ critically acclaimed Moon.

Nollywood Babylon

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:56:48 -0800

Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal’s documentary Nollywood Babylon takes a playful and up-tempo look at the prolific Nigerian film industry. Both insightful and sweeping, this doc shows how affordable filmmaking technology and evangelical Christianity has assisted Nigeria, now the third largest producer of movies, to build a fecund film industry that serves a largely impoverished and politically unsupported nation. A short New York release beginning at NY MoMA July 3 kicks off the U.S. theatrical run. One hopes it will see more theaters before nestling into its obvious next life on IFC or the Sundance Channel.

A cross between a general and a Pastor, Director Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen leads his crew in fervent prayer before beginning photography on his recent feature Bent Arrows. He says Nollywood films are “the voice of Africa, the answer to CNN.” Bent Arrows deals with incest, shame, abortion and spiritual struggles. It’s Lancelot’s 157th film. His films aren’t shown in theatres, in fact there are only three brick and mortar movie houses in the whole of Lagos, the Nigerian capital, and those three theaters are meant to service a population of 14 million—but they don’t show Nollywood titles. Nollywood films are sold on DVD in storefronts and on the street.

Nigeria had a touch and go relationship with cinema until 1992. After decades of imported films, the local industry produced a handful of small but impactful low budget pictures in the 1970’s. Sadly, it was at roughly the same time the availability of small arms created a wave of violence that forced people indoors. The resulting economic downturn stopped local film production for almost a decade. In between the last wave of films in the early 1980’s and the boom that the industry enjoyed beginning in 1992, the magnificently depressed economy directed millions into religion and the industry contributed by catering to the desire for proselytizing…well, really the knife cuts both ways.

As the economy saw factories vacate their buildings mega-churches took residence, most requiring a tithe of 10% from each member’s earnings. It’s often precisely the ex-factory workers who throw their dollars into the massive collection baskets for the church. And the most successful film producers, one of the leaders of the pack, is also the head of one of the biggest church conglomerate around. In her sermons she tells people to use the church’s films for their own evangelical purposes.

Religion has had a perfectly contentious relationship with film since the earliest days. (You’d be hard pressed to find a storyline that’s had more action than the Passion Play.) But seeing a nation’s film production and use so actively married to the church can’t help but raise eyebrows. The ties the film draws to Kenneth Anger’s book, Hollywood Babylon, which was written by a vocal Satanist and has been read as a treatise on the religion-like structure of the industry and its stars, could be layered, but conclusive comment on it is up for grabs. What does seem universal about the doc is that it makes a clear point about the use of these film products in their locale. The movies are useful. They exist for good reason and are produced on the cheap and dirty because there’s demand. One can argue about whether the cost of representation here is too high, but that seems like the cause to be addressed by the as yet unmade “great Nigerian film.” Until then, director Lancelot will hear from his camera operator: “My tape is blasting like a bullet” To which he’ll respond “Unleash it. Action!”

Distributor: Lorber
Director/Screenwriters: Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal
Producers: Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal and Adam Symansky
Genre: Documentary
Rating: Unrated
Running time: 74 min
Release date: July 3 NY

Scott & DiCaprio Find Their 'Dweller'?

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:16:34 -0800

Source: THR

Relativity Media is in the market for a director to take over its project The Low Dweller, and they may have found their man. Rupert Sanders, known for his unique commercials, is currently in talks to direct the pic. Both Leonardo DiCaprio’s Applan Way and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions are producing the feature, which tells the story of a man who leaves prison only to find more problems.

Applan Way helped to produce Michael Mann’s Public Enemies, currently in theaters with more than $40 million in grosses, as well as Shutter Island, to be released later this year starring DiCaprio. Scott Free Productions put together this year’s The Taking of Pelham 123, also in theaters with $58 million grossed at the domestic box office, and is producing Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, to be released next year.

Saunders is attached to direct his first feature film, The Wild Geese, slated for release in 2010.

Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:00:59 -0800

The things I do for our readers.

Seriously, if truth be told, I've been putting off (well, actually dreading, but putting off as well) writing about Michael Jackson since his death last week, for a couple of reasons.

To begin with, I think it's fair to say that mega-star that MJ was, his connection to the art or commerce of movies was fairly tenuous. With the exception of that Francis Coppola 3D short they ran at Epcot Center up through '94, Michael's film career was pretty much over after his childhood turn in Sidney Lumet's dreadfully ill-conceived version of The Wiz in 1978. (More recently, there was a brief cameo in Men In Black II, which in retrospect is even creepier than it seemed at the time.)

For another thing, I will confess to a certain revulsion at the humongous media circus Jackson's death has (granted, unsurprisingly) occasioned, a carnival of fatuous crap bounded on the one side by rightwing Culture War gasbags like James Howard Kunstler, a soulless cynical creep whose too gleeful fixation on the seamy details of Jackson's third act is more than a little self-revealing of his own bigoted pathologies, and on the other by lefties like Al Sharpton (who should know better) who have essentially told us that the genuinely disturbing details of Jackson's public life since the Thriller breakthough are nothing more than an inconvenient bad dream which it would be somehow in poor taste to bring up, nothing to see here so just move on.

In any case, it's occurred to me that both of my rationales for not writing about The King of Pop's passing (I should note, incidentally, that nobody ever really believed that he deserved the title; it was, in fact, for all intents literally shoved down the throat of a shamefully compliant entertainment press desperate for access) are essentially dodges, and pretty pathetic ones at that. The fact is that all of us -- you, me, everybody -- inhabit the same vapid celebrity culture that Michael dominated so completely in the last week, and in that context, in a very real sense, the poor SOB can be said to have died for our sins. Frankly, you can think of him as Princess Diana with better dance moves.

That said, I was browsing Newsweek's coverage of the Jackson story, in particular an essay by critic David Gates that I think is among the most levelheaded and sensible things of its kind since the circus came to town. And so I'll leave you with two impressions I came away from it with, impressions which might be worth sharing despite the reservations I already expressed.

The first is that anybody who doesn't think that Jackson was quite astoundingly, perhaps even supernaturally, talented is somebody who has probably never sat down between a pair of headphones and listened to the miracle that is the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." If Michael had never achieved anything else in his life, that record alone would be more than enough to justify his time on earth.

The second is that anybody who can ponder the chasm that separates these photos...

-- which is to say, the gulf between a supremely vital and charismatic man and a freakish character (The Singing Skull?) out of a bad comic book, someone who inflicted the most drastic mutilations upon himself out of an apparent boundless loathing of his very essence (and most horrifyingly, without a soul around to beg him not to) --

...without coming to the conclusion that on the most basic level, Michael Jackson was as deeply and tragically damaged a human being as has walked the earth in recent memory is, at the very least, somebody who really hasn't been paying enough attention.

Jackson Memorial Headed to Theaters

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:52:04 -0800

As the King of Pop is laid to rest, movie theaters across the country will be broadcasting what is bound to be a memorable memorial service.

Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. and AEG Network LIVE announced today that they are partnering to bring Michael Jackson’s Memorial Service to Cinedigm digital cinema equipped theatres in 31 states live on Tuesday, July 7 at 10am PT/1pm ET. The live feed direct from the Staples Center in HD Digital Cinema with stereo sound will be made possible via Cinedigm’s nationwide CineLive digital cinema network of theaters and will be commercial free in all theatres.

Limited tickets to attend are free and will be available online for most locations on a first-come-first-serve basis.

The following locations will be participating:

AL: Mobile, Wynnsong 16, 725 Schillinger Road
AR: Little Rock, Rave Colonel Glenn 18, 18 Colonel Glenn Plaza Drive
CA: Los Angeles, Mann Chinese 6, 6801 Hollywood Blvd.
CA: Monrovia, Krikorian 12-Monrovia, 410 South Myrtle Ave
CA: Tulare, Galaxy 10-Tulare, 1575 Retherford Street
CO: Colorado Springs, Chapel Hills 15, 1710 Briargate Blvd.
FL: Pensacola, Rave Bayou 15, 5149 Bayou Blvd.
GA: Columbus, Carmike 15, 5555 Whitlesey Parkway
GA: Conyers, Carmike Conyers Crossroads 16, 1536 Dogwood Dr SE
GA: Savannah, Carmike Wynnsong 11 Savannah, 1150 Shawnee St.
IA: Johnston, Carmike Wynnsong 16-Johnston, 5233 NW 84th St.
IL: Champaign, Beverly Center 18, 910 Meijers Drive
IL: Dekalb, Carmike Market Square 10, 2160 Sycamore Rd
IN: Evansville , East 18 Evansville, 4250 W Jefferson Blvd
KS: Manhattan, Seth Childs 12, 2610 Farm Bureau
MI: Lansing, NCG Lansing Eastwood, 2500 Showtime Drive
MO: Warrensburg, Carmike University 8-Warrensburg, 727 N. Charles
MT: Missoula, Carmike 10-Missoula, 3640 Mullan Road
NC: Asheville, Carmike 10-Asheville, 299-1 Swannanoa River Road
NC: Fayetteville, Carmike Market Fair 15, 1916 Skibo Road
NC: Jacksonville, Carmike 16-Jacksonville, 350 Western Blvd.
NC: Raleigh, Marquee Wakefield 12, 10600 Common Oak Drive
NM: Las Cruces, Telshor 12 (Las Cruces, NM), 2811 North Telshore Blvd.
NV: Las Vegas, Rave Town Square 18, 6857 Las Vegas Blvd South
NY: Brooklyn, Pavillion Digital Showcase Theatre, 188 Prospect Park W
NY: New York, Chelsea, 260 West 23rd Street
NY: New Hartford, Marquee Orchard 14-New Hartford, 20 Ellinwood Drive.
TN: Franklin, Thoroughbred 20, 636 Frazier Drive
TN: Johnson City, Johnson City 14, 1805 North Roan Street
TN: Dyersburg, Carmike 9-Dyersburg, 528 Green Village Shopping Ctr.
TN: Knoxville, Carmike Wynnsong 16-Knoxville, 200 North Peters Road
TX: Austin, Galaxy Highland 10, 6700 Middle Fiskville Rd
TX: Edinburg, Carmike 20, 3003 S. Expressway 281
TX: Hurst, RMP North East Mall 18, 1101 Melbourne Rd
VA: Roanoke, Carmike 10, 4494 Electric Road
VA: Fredericksburg, Marquee Southpoint 9, 5800 Southpoint Boulevard
WV: Charleston, Marquee Southridge 12, 331 Southridge Boulevard

“We are truly honored to use Cinedigm’s national digital cinema network to acknowledge and share this momentous event with moviegoers across the nation,” Cinedigm Chairman and CEO, Bud Mayo said in an official statement. “Our deepest sympathies go to the Jackson family and to the millions of mourners who will join us in saying farewell to a great icon. We feel certain Michael would have appreciated the technology that makes an experience like this bigger than life-just the way he was,” he added.

“Bringing fans together in cinemas allows them to participate in the historic passing of Michael Jackson as part of a community. We are pleased to be providing that opportunity,” said John Rubey, president, AEG Network LIVE. “We appreciate the permission of AEG Network LIVE and the Jackson family to bring the service to theatres.”

Since his death on June 25, there has been an enormous surge of interest in the legendary pop star. Jackson's most popular albums such as Thriller and Off the Wall are selling thousands upon thousands of physical copies, while digital downloads have easily crossed the two million plateau according to music industry sources.

‘Transformers 2’ Holds off ‘Ice Age 3’

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:17:56 -0800

A day after a tie was declared for first place in this weekend’s studio estimates, Paramount’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was ultimately able to hold onto first for a second straight weekend. The blockbuster sequel grossed $42.32 million this weekend, which topped Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs by $630,495. However, weekend grosses for Transformers 2, Ice Age 3 and a number of other films were lower than anticipated going into the weekend, as Independence Day falling on a Saturday clearly hampered the performances of most films.

Transformers 2 was down a very steep 61 percent from last weekend, which suggests that word of mouth is weaker than it was for 2007’s Transformers and is a poor sign for the film going forward. At the same time, Transformers 2 has already grossed $293.36 million through just 12 days of release and will hit the $300 million mark sometime in the next few days. Despite experiencing a much larger second weekend decline that the 47 percent Transformers fell, Transformers 2 is running 38 percent ahead of Transformers and will out-gross that film before much longer.

Though it was the early favorite to win the weekend, Fox’s Ice Age 3 had to settle for a close, but disappointing, second place finish with $41.69 million. Ice Age 3 was unable to deliver the type of debut that the highest profile release of Independence Day weekend usually delivers, as you have to go all the way back to the 2001 debut of Cats & Dogs to find a slower start for the top new release of Independence Day weekend. Ice Age 3 has delivered $66.73 million in its first five days of release, which was actually slightly less that the $68.03 million 2006’s Ice Age: The Meltdown made in its first three days. While Ice Age 3 could still hold up well in the weeks ahead, releasing the computer animated film in between Transformers 2 and Harry Potter 6 may not have been the best move in hindsight.

Universal’s Public Enemies opened in third place with $25.27 million. The gangster film starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale grossed $40.14 million in its first five days, which was on the lower end of pre-release expectations. Public Enemies scored the second largest opening weekend of director Michael Mann’s career (behind 2006’s Miami Vice), though it falls to third largest when adjusting for ticket price inflation (also behind 2004’s Collateral). Through five days, Public Enemies is running 48 percent ahead of 2002’s Road to Perdition, with its lead shrinking to 19 percent when taking inflation into account.

While most wide releases experienced significant decreases over the holiday weekend, The Proposal was clearly an exception. Disney’s romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds grossed $12.86 million, which was down just 31 percent from last weekend. The Proposal had been expected to be a modest hit, but has exceeded those expectations with a 17-day gross of $94.34 million. Look for The Proposal to continue to hold up well until Sony’s The Ugly Truth debuts on July 24th.

The Hangover rounded out the weekend’s top five with $11.27 million and crossed the $200 million mark in the process. The comedy blockbuster from Warner Bros. was down 34 percent from last weekend. After tremendous holds in its second and third weekends, The Hangover has fallen off a bit faster each of the past two weekends. However, the film is still holding up well compared to most other films in the marketplace and already boasts a total gross to opening weekend ratio of 4.56 to 1.

Disney’s UP and Warner’s My Sister’s Keeper were both down sharply over the weekend, as both films were especially hurt by Independence Day falling on a Saturday. UP also suffered from the debut of Ice Age 3, which helped result in UP playing in 831 fewer locations than it did last weekend. My Sister’s Keeper is performing relatively stronger on weekdays than it is on weekends, which was also the case with 2004’s The Notebook. Expect both films to hold up much better next weekend than they did this weekend.

Despite weakening from July 4th falling on Saturday, this weekend’s combined box office of roughly $162.5 million topped the same weekend last year by 1 percent. It also marked the third largest July 4th weekend on record (behind only 2007 and 2004), though it should also be noted that this weekend’s combined box office was fairly average for a July 4th weekend by inflation adjusted standards.

“Your Keys Might be Better”

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:13:28 -0800

Moviemaking seems glamorous but it’s an onerous effort and most who endeavor it retire early. Some directors, Titans of the field, keep working well into their older years. Agnès Varda is certainly one of these.

It’s often assumed that Varda earned the title “The Grande Dame of the Nouvelle Vague” because she was the only woman in the group. But that’s a tad reductive. It’s similarly reductive to credit Varda's notoriety to her relationship with Jacques Demy, another integral member of the Left Bank of the Nouvelle Vague—though, prior to Demy’s death in 1990, they were quite the power couple. Varda trained her lens on an aspect of cinema that the rest only touched. While emotional realism was a credible goal to most of the Nouvelle Vague (a.k.a. French New Wave), each filmmaker had his or her own terrain to mine. Alain Resnais explored memory, Chris Marker favored time, Francois Truffaut dug into fan culture and Jean-Luc Godard liked (gender/romantic/formal) politics. Meanwhile, Varda was wearing away the thin seam that separates documentary and fiction film.

There are rumors her newest release, Les plages d'Agnès, is her final film. The filmmaker, now 81, met with BOXOFFICE to discuss her love of puzzles and the way that looking back on a storied life has inspired her to piece her life together and, sometimes, get creative with the missing pieces.

Your film is a puzzle: both in the story and in the telling. I am curious about the relationship there, because the idea of people as puzzles is so logical.

(We are) not only puzzles, but we are zapping all along.

Zapping?

Well, you (and I) speak and then a minute later you have a private phone call, then you open the paper and turn on the TV, you have Michael Jackson, then you switch to another station that explains how bad it is in Iran and then you feel hungry and then you have a private call that makes you feel so happy. In that time we zap like twenty times to different feelings, different impressions.

Like, we live a thousand lives in one day?

Yes. This is like a contradiction, also appearing all the time. We are puzzles even to ourselves. So the film is built as a puzzle. I have been playing a lot of puzzles. Most of the time you start with the edges of the puzzle (and build inward). In the case of my film, the edges are the beaches. And then you build inside, inside, inside and you end up in the middle. Sometimes, at the end (of the puzzle), the figure appears.

You use clips from your other films as puzzle pieces to fill in the open spaces. It helps us understand the larger body of your work. You are kind of giving us an opportunity to see everything from one step back.

Oh yes, absolutely. But you see everybody takes the film the way they want. The film is really open, and it is like something with ten doors. Some people enter that door, some people the other door, but they enter and they take the film for themselves. Some old people remember the histories, but some very young people enter and see the jokes about my costume being punk and crazy and energetic. They get that. Some people don't age, you know. They get the grace of a love story and that sort of thing. So, they take the film, they eat it, they swallow it. I believe that you just have to decide how you are going to take it. This is finished, and the film doesn't belong to me any longer.

Do you really feel that way?

Yes. It belongs to me as a person, I know I made that film and I love it, I will always love it, but for other people it belongs to them. So, when they say they want an explanation about this and that I say, “Fine. I can give you my keys.” But your keys might be better.

Nobel Son

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:27:02 -0800

They say that the problem with first impressions is that you only get to make one, which does not bode well for the possible filmic friendship between Randall Miller and myself. Miller—of Bottle Shock notoriety—has crafted a generational spasm of a film. Granted, I would label it as a “hissy fit” but such indignation at least has purpose; children throw fits to gain. In this, “spasm” feels right, as the picture is a quick, annoying burst that’s existence isn’t really worth explaining. Box office returns don’t validate it either, though this hardly has to do with the lackluster quality of the film itself. Nobel Son crawled onto 983 screens last December and managed to gross only $540,183 before quietly exiting theaters. Methinks that its fate is a fitting one.

Not often does a director come around who inadvertently validates the competence of Guy Ritchie or, worse yet, Troy Duffy (The Boondock Saints). Ritchie made waves with glossy aesthetics and witty idiosyncrasies but struggles with cohesion and theme. Duffy is less ambitious and achieved cult acclaim by sucking the intellectualism out of Quentin Tarantino’s usual M.O. and presenting it as stylistically cutting-edge. Miller’s vision seems to draw from these inspirational wells, and generously at that, a practice akin to serving guests mud and telling them it’s not gross but “organic”.

From a distance the cast looks solid enough. Alan Rickman is there, as is Bill “Not To Be Confused With Paxton” Pullman, Danny DeVito, Eliza Dushku and a few others. The best crop of actors available they are not, but most of them are low-key these days, which makes it easier for audiences to see them as characters, not celebrities. This is something that works to Miller’s advantage or, rather, would if he employed any type of realized characterization. Instead, he opts for the hyperbolic and strips his players of any moral ambiguity or insight. Rickman plays an egotistical genius that cares more about fame than family—a one-note waste of his talent. Meanwhile, Pullman plays the same sly detective that we’ve seen in every film ever made and DeVito is a “recovered” OCD sufferer or, naturally, still suffers from OCD. Worse are the youngsters (Bryan Greenberg, Shawn Hatosy, and Dushku) who are stuck between the typical archetypes of those from Generations X and Y. They revel in excess but are decidedly angsty and helpless without the technological. Instead of exploring their social hang-ups, Miller is content with drawing our attention to abs and asses—the sad reality being that these are their best features, both inside and out. I hope our director takes note that, when used for commentarial purposes, hyperbole can be fun.

Somewhere amidst all the color filtering, speed manipulations, and songs lifted from an Abercrombie and Fitch store is a story, just not a very good one. Greenberg’s character Barkley, the son of Rickman’s Eli, is kidnapped for ransom after the latter wins the Nobel Prize. There’s more to the tale than this, but Miller handles all the material that should be interesting—estranged sons, former psychiatric patients, ethics of cannibalism, stolen theories, murder, and so on—in terribly rote ways. He seems more concerned with his Ritchie-Duffy hybrid aesthetic to aptly convey anything worth conveying and isn’t self-aware enough as a filmmaker to do anything relevant with his blatantly post-modern strokes. If I sound dismissive of the film, it’s because Miller is equally dismissive of his audience’s intelligence. I’d say the latter is a far worse crime.

Distributor: Freestyle Releasing
Cast: Alan Rickman, Bryan Greenberg, Shawn Hatosy, Mary Steenburgen, Bill Pullman, Eliza Dushku and Danny DeVito
Director: Randall Miller
Screenwriters: Jody Savin and Randall Miller
Producers: Jody Savin and Randall Miller
Genre: Crime, Drama, Comedy
Rating: R for some violent gruesome images, language and sexuality
Running time: 110 minutes

Rising Stock

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:47:23 -0800

The red band trailer for September's Jennifer's Body will go over quite well with moviegoers who just caught Megan Fox in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Now that the Transformers films have turned her into a huge star, Fox isn't looking back. Based on what I've seen so far, Body seems like a great fit for the young actress. It appears to have that borderline-campy appeal to it that mainstream audiences love to see in horror flicks. This will easily be a solid mid-range hit when opens in a few months, and it will certainly have a long shelf life outside of theaters as well.

Meadows Joins 'Grown Ups'

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:20:07 -0800

Source: THR

Tim Meadows is the latest Saturday Night Live alum to join the cast of Columbia’s Grown Ups, a Dennis Dugan-helmed project that began filming in May.

Headlined by SNL legends Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade and Chris Rock, the flick centers on a group of high school friends who reconvene 30 years after their graduation. The film also stars Maya Rudolph, Norm MacDonald, Colin Quinn and Tim Herlihy, who penned the script alongside Sandler.

Meadows last appeared in Semi-Pro, which grossed a disappointing $33.5 million domestically in 2008.

Grown Ups marks the fourth collaboration between Dugan and Sandler. Dugan last directed Sandler in 2008’s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, which hauled in $100 million domestically.

Warner Bros. Claims Midway's Assets

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:02:13 -0800

Source: Variety

Midway Games, a company whose assets have been left battered and bruised in bankruptcy court, has seen their fortunes lifted thanks to Warner Bros. For $33 million, the company now owns the rights to Midway's game franchises, including Mortal Komba and Spy Hunter.

The deal was approved by a Delaware bankruptcy court.

Hollywood is certainly trying to tap into video game franchises in the same way that it has optimized comic book properties as of late, which means Warner Bros. could benefit a great deal from this acqusition.

One of the biggest video game adaptations that's on its way in Disney's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time from producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Persia stars Jake Gyllenhaal, and it is due in theaters on May 28.

Sudeikis Set to Go 'Distance'

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:25:02 -0800

Source: THR

Comedic actor Jason Sudeikis is continuing to pick up momentum. He is currently in negotiations to star opposite Drew Barrymore and Justin Long in a new romantic comedy titled Going the Distance.

Sudeikis has been seen in hits (What Happens in Vegas) and flops (The Rocker) since making it big on Saturday Night Live. He recently snagged a role in The Bounty Hunter opposite Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. Aniston is on fire after the success of Marley and Me and He's Just Not That Into You, and Butler may become a viable love interest after this month's The Ugly Truth.

Long and Barrymore were both also in Into You, which grossed $94 million domestically.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:11:21 -0800

The sixth entry in the enormously successful Harry Potter series is bound for glory at the box office as J.K. Rowling’s beloved characters get older and take on new challenges. In fact, for pure fun, adventure, romance and thrills this is clearly going to be the movie to raise the bar for this summer’s blockbusters. With Harry, Ron and Hermione feeling the pangs of love and ominous signs that the final battle is nearing, this is the most spectacular and richly satisfying Potter movie yet, topping all that have come before it. Expect business to fly higher than a Quidditch player, with US and international returns hitting the stratospheric mark. The only snag in the film’s predictable success is the result of a scheduling snafu that will force the majority of IMAX theaters to receive the title two weeks after it hits regular screens. In every other way, it’s smooth sailing.

Director David Yates returns after successfully helming the Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix in 2007. Screenwriter Steve Kloves, writer of the first four installments, is now returning after missing the last film. Their teaming proves fortuitous as these filmmakers take the Hogwarts gang into considerably darker and more grown up territory than ever before. Fans of the book will not be disappointed as this edition is, per usual, slavishly loyal to Rowling’s meticulous plotting.

Basic storyline picks up in the first scene with ominous gray clouds literally dwarfing the screen and three of Lord Voldemort’s evil Death Eaters unleashed to wreak havoc in London. For Professor Dumbledore (a superb Michael Gambon) these are signs that the ultimate confrontation is nearing and he must prepare Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) for the inevitable. To this end, he enlists the “The Chosen One” (Harry) to befriend returning Hogwarts Potions Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent). Slughorn holds the key to very critical information regarding Voldemort’s destructive plans. Standing in the way is the increasingly dangerous Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) and Harry’s main teenaged nemesis, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), the latter of which feels he should be the rightful “Chosen One,” and sets out to shake things up. Meanwhile, Cupid is working overtime as Harry and his cohorts Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) are all feeling the hormonally induced urges of young love in its various forms. As their own romantic yearnings get impossibly tangled up, the biggest challenge of all awaits the Muggle and wizard community and only one Mr. Potter may be up to the imposing task at hand.

The hallmarks of Rowling’s brilliant concept are all on display here, and while this blockbuster franchise could coast at this point and still rake in the dough, The Half-Blood Prince instead takes great risks by getting dark in the film’s second half and killing off a major character along the way. This one goes where no Potter has gone before and it all works beautifully.

Allowing the characters, the actors who play them and the audience to all grow older and wiser together is a smart decision. Radcliffe, Grint and Watson are again all pro, really digging into their now familiar roles with style. Grint in particular gets to shine by showing strong comic chops as he deals with girl problems in the form of the aggressively horny Lavender Brown (a hilarious Jessie Cave), underlying romantic tension with Hermione and Harry’s sudden heart palpitations for Ron’s sister, Ginny (a lovely Bonnie Wright). Oscar winner Broadbent is a great addition and Rickman skillfully dominates much of the proceedings. It’s Gambon, however, who steals the movie with a towering performance as Dumbledore—particularly in a spectacular set piece in which he takes Harry to the heart of Voldemort’s fortress.

Special kudos go to cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, whose stunningly muted visuals bring the look of this series to a whole new artistic level. With Yates, Kloves and the rest of the crew now filming the two part finale, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, this is one franchise in great shape and looks like it’s going to go out in high style.

Distributor: Warner Bros.
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Helena Bonham Carter and Robbie Coltrane.
Director: David Yates
Screenwriter: Steve Kloves
Producers: David Heyman and David Barron
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Rating: PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.
Running Time: 153 min
Release date: July 15, 2009

'Hooker' Back on the Streets

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:53:08 -0800

Source: Variety

Another TV-to-movie adaptation has been announced, with reports that a film version of T.J. Hooker is in the works. Series creator Rick Husky is currently working alongside David Foster and Ryan Heppe to produce the flick. Director Chuck Russell is the current front runner to helm the project. The original 1982 TV series, put together by legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling, starred William Shatner and Heather Locklear.

Russell previously directed such actioners as 2002’s The Scorpion King, which managed a successful $111 million domestic gross, and 1996’s Eraser, which made more than $164 million domestically (figures adjusted for inflation).

Producers Foster and Heppe are also currently at work adapting another 80’s staple, Short Circuit, for an upcoming screen remake.

Great Lost Movies of the 80s (An Occasional Series)

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:25:35 -0800

Some movies, alas, are born obscure, while some achieve obscurity and others have obscurity thrust upon them. So say the Sages of Hellas or perhaps Gilbert Gottfried; to be honest I don't remember. But in any case, the latter seems to describe So Fine, a hilarious but unjustly underappreciated 1981 comedy written and directed by Andrew Bergman, auteur of the original The In-Laws and much much else.

Why do I love this picture? Let me count the ways.

But first -- Steve's Movie Reviews©!!!

Public Enemies -- Pretty much of a mess, although Johnny Depp is mesmeric as always and the concluding twenty minute sequence of the Feds closing in on Dillinger and company is quite brilliant. The scene where Depp/Dillinger strolls into the FBI office and swans around unnoticed, however, is the biggest I Don't Think So! moment since Sylvester Stallone performed surgery on himself in Rambo III.

The Hangover -- Consistently droll male-bonding farce with nary a loose end in sight. Also: Who knew Mike Tyson was funny?

But we were talking of So Fine.

The plot:

Mild mannered English prof Bobby Fine (Ryan O'Neal), son of rag trade maven Jack Fine (Jack Warden) is trying to get tenure at a stuffy Ivy League school (department head: A hilarious Fred Gwynne). After chauffeuring a visiting poet modelled after Robert Graves, Bobby learns that dad's shmatte business is going bankrupt; the elder Fine, in desperation, has resorted to sleeping with buyers and stalking ladies of a certain age in the women's department at Bloomingdales. Worse, Jack has borrowed money from a Mafia boss/loan shark, the gigantic Mr. Eddie (Richard Kiel, Jaws from the James Bond films) and with the note come due, Eddie insists that Bobby leave school and go into the family business. A world class fish out of water, Bobby tries to fit in on Seventh Avenue until he finds himself having an affair with Mr. Eddie's sex-starved Italian opera singing wife Lira (Lina Wertmüller muse Mariangela Melato) who introduces herself in a disco scene with the immortal line "I f**k around." Then one evening, escaping from Lira's boudoir upon Mr. Eddie's unexpected return, Bobby accidentally creates an outrageous new fashion trend -- see-through plastic assless jeans -- which takes the fashion world by storm and saves the company. With Fine Fashions back on track, Bobby tries to return his more genteel college milieu, but an obsessive Lira and a jealous Mr. Eddie keep threatening to pull him back in, until the whole thing resolves during a performance of Verdi's Otello in which life begins to resemble art.

As you've probably guessed from the above, Bergman's going after an ambitious number of targets here; he manages to satirically skewer subjects as varied as the designer jeans trend of the late 70s, the pretensions of academia (you haven't lived until you've heard Gwynne waxing nostalgic about his doctoral thesis "Masque and Anti-Masque: Images of Heat and Lighting in Shakespeare's The Tempest), Reagan era wretched excess and consumerism, the commodification of the derriere, and the conventions of old-fashioned bedroom farce. Bergman pulls it all off quite beyond deftly, however (apparently he knew the stuff about the rag trade and academia first hand) and I should add that he stages a fake commercial, starring the astoundingly erotic Anita Morris as the girl in the clear plastic jeans, that once seen will be etched onto your cerebellum for eternity. I should also add that Warden, as the gloriously vulgarian patriarch, should have won an Oscar for his delivery of the line " Hi, I'm Jack Fine and this is my suicidal son, Bobby" alone.

Here's an all-too brief scene to give you a taste.

Bottom line: This is one of those films that got away that really shouldn't have. You can order a DVD (transferred from the 80s laserdisc version) of questionable legality here; you can -- and definitely should, trust me -- order a more legit VHS version here.

Incidentally, before Bergman became a filmmaker, he wrote two absolutely brilliant period detective novels featuring a bald middle-aged Jewish shamus from Sunnyside, Queens -- The Big Kiss Off of 1944 and Hollywood and Levine. They're smashing reads, peopled with real life characters including Thomas Dewey, Richard Nixon and Humphrey Bogart, and they're as close to vintage Raymond Chandler as anything you'll ever find; they're both still available and you can order them from Amazon here. You're welcome.

'Transformers 2' and 'Ice Age 3' Tie for First Over Holiday Weekend

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:28:50 -0800

According to studio weekend estimates, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs will finish in a tie over the July 4th weekend. Both films are estimated to have made $42.5 million from Friday to Sunday. Transformers 2 grossed an estimated $65.0 million during Wednesday to Sunday.

Ice Age 3 grossed a slightly better estimated $67.5 million since opening on Wednesday. The previous Ice Age film grossed $68 million during its opening frame in March 2006 before ultimately bringing in $195.3 million. Ice Age 3 will need to grab as much cash as it can before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens on July 15 and steals away family audiences.

Public Enemies has made an estimated $41 million since opening on Wednesday. According to Universal, the gangster flick scored an impressive B grade from CinemaScore, and the film's audience was 53% male and 47% female.

Elsewhere in the top 10, The Hangover was able to cross the $200 million plateau. The Warner Bros. release could end its domestic theatrical run with as much as $230 million.

The overall box office haul this weekend should equal $163 million once all the receipts are totaled, which puts it 1.6% ahead of 2008's 4th of July weekend. Without adjusting for inflation, 2007's 4th of July weekend is still the strongest with a domestic haul of $174.5 million. When adjusting for inflation, 1996's holds the crown with $205.7 million.

2009's total domestic box office haul is now 11.8% above 2008's at the exact same point in the year.

Check back tomorrow for weekend actuals.

Tony Manero

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:49:01 -0800

Set in 1978, just five years into dictator Auguste Pinochet’s 17 year regime, Chilean director Pablo Larrain’s modestly celebrated period drama is a curious look at the long, unpredictable and often indiscernible shadow of American influence on Latin America, politically and culturally. Despite the title—a reference to the character played by John Travolta in 1977’s Saturday Night Fever (and its 1983 sequel, Staying Alive)—the picture is anything but a love letter to either the movie or the character. Larrain’s consciously raw execution in telling the story of a compelling but ultimately unsavory character is an id-bending exercise in provocation that’s both competent and challenging enough to possibly ride a lengthy platform release to middling arthouse success, assuming it can continue to hold screens into the early Fall.

As if to underscore the process of perversion that American culture and politics undergo when moving southward, Larrain centers his film on the most un-cinematic lead character imaginable. Raúl Peralta (co-writer Alfredo Castro) is a grizzled, 52 year old thug who has developed a wholly unnatural obsession with Travolta and Saturday Night Fever, an addiction enabled by the film’s seeming refusal to leave Chiléan theaters even a year after its original release. He knows the dialogue and the moves, yet somehow misses the point of the film itself. Ironically, Raúl’s entire dichotomous existence is a product of American exports—as he supports himself with petty crime, capitalizing on a degrading societal and political atmosphere facilitated by the CIA-orchestrated coup that installed Pinochet as dictator (an unmistakable subtext that is never addressed directly), he still harbors dreams of fame and success to be garnered from a roof-raising Travolta impersonation on a television contest show, an act he has faithfully honed for months in a local dive. Both facets of his life, however, are perversions of American ideals—the deadliness of anarchy in place of freedom, the tediousness of kitsch in place of entertainment. That this scrappy, unappealing figure of dubious character should end up earning the affections of several fellow performers only adds to the pervasive sense of perversion.

To Larrain’s credit, the film never deviates from its thematic concerns, even as it veers toward a finale that flirts with redemption. The temptation to cave entirely to Hollywood standards would, in a sense, have represented the ultimate perversion but also the ultimate betrayal, as it would have suggested hope for this self-made light at the end of a manufactured tunnel. Whether or not such is or ever could be possible is not for Larrain or his film to say—fueled by Castro’s dour, understated performance and magnificently lined face, it’s enough to merely call attention to the issues at hand. Any further conclusions and extrapolations are up to the audience. Those seeking a lighter, more overtly satisfying homage would do well to seek out Singaporean director Glen Goei’s 1998 That’s the Way I Like It (a.k.a. Forever Fever), a frothy romantic comedy that could just as easily be paired with Tony Manero on a double-bill addressing the fascinating and divergent ways in which Americanism is exported and absorbed in Asia versus Latin America.

But there is a more existential dimension to Tony Manero as well, one that speaks to the internal human struggle between light and dark, a struggle few individuals and even fewer films strive, much less succeed, at addressing. Larrain and his colleagues don’t necessarily pull it off, but their effort is praiseworthy and, in fits and starts, successful enough to warrant deeper consideration.

Distributor: Lorber Films
Cast: Alfredo Castro, Héctor Morales, Amparo Noguera, Paola Lattus and Elsa Poblete
Director: Pablo Larrain
Screenwriter: Pablo Larrain, Alfredo Castro and Mateo Iribarren
Producers: Juan de Dios Larraín
Genre: Drama; Spanish-language, subtitled
Rating: Unrated
Running time: 98 min
Release date: July 3 NY

Weekly Anticipation Index

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:33:46 -0800

Horror fans will have plenty to look forward to during the last weekend of August. As the summer comes to an end, a pair of fright flicks will make their way to the multiplexes in the hopes of grabbing some lucrative summer box office.

Director Rob Zombie will continue his resurrection of the Halloween franchise with Halloween 2. Zombie brought the popular horror series back to life in a big way in 2007 with a reboot that grossed an impressive $30.6 million domestically during its opening frame before finishing its theatrical run at close to $60 million. Recently, the Michael Bay-produced version of Friday the 13th opened with $43.6 million domestically before running out of steam quickly and finishing with a still respectable $65 million. Horror films are always front-loaded, so that comes as little surprise. After a summer full of fighting robots, wizards and space captains, audiences should be ready for a good scare.

The Final Destination, a fourth installment in a consistently strong franchise, will also be competing for the attention of horror enthusiasts. The fact that Destination will be played in 3D is not only going to help it entice moviegoers who may have grown tired of the series, but it will also pad the film's gross thanks to the extra price of 3D tickets.

Check out our box office predictions for both films in the table below.

Weekly Anticipation Index, July 4, 2009
Title	Release Date	Distributor	Opening Weekend	Cumulative
Brüno	July 10	Universal	$45M	$120M
I Love You, Beth Cooper	July 10	Fox Atomic	$13M	$35M
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	July 15	Warner Bros.	$88M	$315M
G-Force	July 24	Disney	$33M	$118M
The Ugly Truth	July 24	Sony/Columbia	$25M	$80M
Funny People	July 31	Universal	$34M	$105M
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra	August 7	Paramount	$40M	$100M
Julie & Julia	August 7	Sony/ Columbia	$20M	$70M
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard	August 14	Paramount Vantage	$13M	$40M
The Time Traveler's Wife	August 14	Warner Bros./New Line	$14M	$43M
District 9	August 14	Sony	$17M	$53M
Shorts	August 21	Warner Bros.	$13M	$42M
Inglourious Basterds	August 21	The Weinstein Company	$25M	$70M
Halloween 2	August 28	The Weinstein Company	$28M	$62M
The Final Destination	August 28	Warner Bros.	$17M	$43M

Additional reporting by Daniel Garris.

'Transformers 2' Headed for #1

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:22:19 -0800

According to BOXOFFICE.com's Early Weekend Estimates, it looks as though Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is on pace to remain in first place for the second weekend in a row. The DreamWorks/Paramount release will fall just shy of hitting the $300 million mark, and it will hit that plateau on Monday, its 13th day of release.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs isn't far behind Transformers 2. The third film is Fox's lucrative animated franchise will reach more than $70 million by the end of Sunday. Ice Age 3 should show some solid staying power in the weeks to come considering that many major July releases such as Brüno, Funny People and The Ugly Truth will appeal to adult audiences.

Public Enemies has debuted with a relatively mediocre haul. The Universal release reportedly cost more than $100 million to produce, which means that it needed to open much stronger. However, director Michael Mann's films usually play much better abroad so Enemies still has a shot at being profitable.

Elsewhere in the top 10, The Hangover is going to cross the $200 million mark this weekend.

Check back tomorrow for studio weekend estimates.

‘Transformers 2’ and 'Ice Age 3’ Lead Thursday

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:38:44 -0800

It was a very close race at the box office on Thursday between Paramount’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Transformers 2 outpaced Ice Age 3 by an estimated $300,000 for the day. As a result of the Independence Day holiday tomorrow, most box office numbers for yesterday are estimates.

Transformers 2 grossed an estimated $11.5 million on Thursday. That was up 5 percent from Wednesday and down 60 percent from last Thursday. The sequel to the popular 2007 film passed both the $250 million mark and the studio’s Star Trek yesterday. That already makes Transformers 2 the second highest grossing film of 2009 thus far and today the film will pass Disney’s UP to take over the top spot of the year. It looks it will be an extremely close race for first place this weekend between Transformers 2 and Ice Age 3, with Transformers 2 looking to have the slight edge after yesterday’s results.

Ice Age 3 grossed an estimated $11.2 million yesterday, which was down 19 percent from the film’s opening day performance. The computer animated sequel has grossed $25.0 million in two days of release, which is a bit soft by the standards set by the previous two installments of the franchise. At the same time, Ice Age 3 could still finish in first place this weekend if it is able to experience a big enough surge in business today. As a result of Independence Day falling on Saturday we could still see some unexpected daily fluctuations for all films throughout the weekend, but at the moment Ice Age 3 appears headed for a five-day start in the $70 million to $77 million range.

Universal’s Public Enemies remained in third place with a daily gross of $6.6 million. Like Ice Age 3, Public Enemies was also down 19 percent from Wednesday. The Michael Mann directed film starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale has grossed $14.8 million in two days, which is in line with the lower end of pre-release expectations. Public Enemies is running 4 percent behind the pace of 2002’s Road to Perdition , though that becomes a more notable 23 percent gap when adjusting for ticket price inflation (it should also be noted that Road to Perdition opened on a Friday). Public Enemies is currently on pace for a five-day start in the $40 million to $46 million range.

Disney’s The Proposal and Warner’s The Hangover rounded out the day’s top five for a second straight day. Both films displayed very strong holds for the day as The Proposal was up 20 percent from Wednesday and down 7 percent from last Thursday, while The Hangover was up 25 percent from Wednesday and up 6 percent from last Thursday. To date The Proposal has grossed $81.4 million, while The Hangover has grossed $193.8 million, as both comedies have exceeded expectations.

Warner's My Sister’s Keeper finished in sixth place on Thursday with an estimated $2.0 million. The film’s one-week total stands at an estimated $20.7 million, thanks in part to solid midweek business.

BOXOFFICE.com's box office recap for June can be read here.

I Hate Valentine's Day

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:11:31 -0800

There’s nothing wrong with a good romance: flowers, sweets and love letters; hearts break and hearts mend; lonely hearts (who aren’t-so-lonely, after all); jealous love; twisted love; puppy love; smuggle the love; fall; hard; rebound; slamdunk. True, the themes never change. But the manner in which they’re exploited in I Hate Valentine’s Day is an unrepentantly formulaic feast for toothpaste focus groups—who appear to be the intended audience. Only a few sparks are yielded by recasting the romantic leads from Nia Vardalos’ breakout hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Auds who don’t mind a tired TV dinner (because it’s exactly like the last one and the one before that) can do a little dance in the film’s honor. The rest will skip the theater run to watch it on the tube while writing a Hallmark card to grandma come mid-February.

The picture is set in the nicer haunts of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, near the park where strollers stroll three-deep and first-name merchants know each other for better or worse. Genevieve Gernier (Nia Vardalos) runs a flower shop called Roses For Romance.

Genevieve believes that relationships don’t last (at least the happiness wears away) and in turn there’s no need to go the distance. Five dates are all you need. Her motto? “When the romance is gone it’s time to move on.” Her no-strings-attached system gets its toughest test with a fellow who’s got a similarly alliterative name, Greg Gatlin (John Corbett). Greg, who used to be a high-powered attorney, shed his lawyer skin to play restaurateur. He buys a cursed spot across from the flower shop to run a tapas bar. On Valentine’ Day, he comes into the flower shop (along with the rest of the last-minute herd of thoughtful guys) to buy some flowers for his flight attendant, sort-of girlfriend.

As luck would have it, Greg’s flygirl is shacking up with someone else. The free agent takes a shot at the five-date flower girl. Genevieve plays a little hard to get; she’s not easy and wants to be wooed and pursued. They go on dates (somehow they only manage to go out four times in three months). Maybe these are date-dates. Not the sort-of dates that pass by unrecorded. After date number four the clothes fly off.

You know the rest. He abides by the five-date rule. She realizes her system is as valid as a trying to use a library card to enter The Pentagon. She wants him back. He wants her, too. In the interim Genevieve faces-up to drama with her parents and finds that piece that she’d been missing the entire 80 minutes before the finale.

Since the 2002 box office sleeper hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding scored big across the board (even grabbing a short lived TV show series deal), the one-hitmaker Nia Vardalos has had a hard time wooing back her constituents. But not even the casting chemists could remedy this film’s troubles. It may be that Corbett and Vardalos had something special in their first walk down the aisle. Expecting the audience to buy into that connection again without enough substance or story makes their appearance together feel cheap. It’s like icing without cake.

The script is written as a wandering inner monologue by writer/director Vardalos, who seems so enamored with her own lines about relationships she ends up giving too much time to herself to shine on the turns of phrases. This tired structure where the guy and gal are lost and finally find each other, then fracture, then reemerge whole and stronger than ever—before the titles run—needs a widespread overhaul. There’s so much material to work off of and yet nothing novel. Not a layer beyond sea level. You can go home and tell your friends you saw I Hate Valentine’s Day in the same breath as bragging about the five stamps you licked for five different envelopes. It’s that riveting.

Distributor: IFC Films
Cast: John Corbett, Nia Vardalos, Judah Friedlander, Dan Finnerty, Stephen Guarino, Zoe Kazan and Ben Schwartz
Director/Screenwriter: Nia Vardalos
Producers: Madeleine Sherak, William Sherak and Jason Shuman
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Rating: PG-13 for some sexual content.
Running time: 89 min
Release date: July 3 ltd

Lion's Den

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:14:27 -0800

Joining artful camerawork as beautiful as anything from the New Latino Cinema and gripping melodrama with surprising realism, Argentinean filmmaker Pablo Trapero's female prison drama, Lion's Den (Leonera), has qualities that will attract enthusiastic word of mouth. Female audiences interested in the film's themes of motherhood in the most demanding conditions, as well as specialty audiences drawn to more challenging fare, will provide the Spanish-language drama with a select, core audience. With an unknown, Spanish cast (there's no Gael García Bernal in the movie, for example) and a director with little profile in the U.S., Lion's Den shows limited potential as an arthouse release and in home video for indie distributor Strand Releasing. Marketing that focuses on the feminist themes and draws comparisons to recent Spanish-language dramas like Fernando Meirelles' City of God and Bruno Barreto's Last Stop 174 will help promote the film to women and appreciative arthouse audiences.

In her apartment, Julia (Martina Gusman) wakes up after a night of excess to discover two men lying in their own blood. One of the men (Rodrigo Santoro) survives and testifies against Julia in court. Conviction for murder becomes just the first in a series of life-changing experiences for the hard-living Julia. She's also pregnant and destined to become a mother at an all-women's prison.

Trapero’s previous features Crane World (1999), El Bonaerense (2002), Rolling Family (2004) and Born and Bred (2006) received little attention in the U.S. Lion's Den is a smart, stunning breakout that will bring him much-deserved critical notice. Quality editing work from Trapero and Ezequiel Borovinsky keep the drama moving at a swift pace. This is an admirable achievement as the film shifts from a crime drama in its early scenes to a prison melodrama shortly thereafter. Cinematographer Guillermo Nieto makes artful use of the stark prison backdrop. The film's claustrophobic spaces, its jail cells and hallways are used to stunning effect. Production designer Coca Oderigo brings much appreciated authenticity to the film. Collaborating with writers Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui and Santiago Mitre, Trapero supplies a story equal to the impressive technical work.

Martina Gusman is both sympathetic and slightly offensive as Julia, which makes her all the more believable as a woman not quite ready for motherhood. In prison, as the film shifts away from its opening crime sequence and settles into gritty melodrama, Gusman becomes more compelling. Her performance, especially in scenes when Julia bonds with her newborn son and develops relationships with her fellow inmates, is believable, grounded and appropriately intense.

Social message dramas like Lion's Den are difficult genres for any filmmaker, first-timer or veteran. While the film's feminist message is strong and compelling, its characters and storytelling provide the sociopolitical themes with ample dramatic support. Trapero, a native of Buenos Aires, deserves the lion's share of credit for the film's critical success.

Purchased by Strand after festival showings at Cannes and Toronto, Lion's Den may be the first step towards strong U.S. recognition in Trapero's directing career and a moderate home video success for a company with a strong track record of supporting challenging world cinema.

Distributor: Strand Releasing
Cast: Martina Gusman, Rodrigo Santoro and Elli Medeiros
Director: Pablo Trapero
Screenwriter: Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui, Santiago Mitre and Pablo Trapero
Producers: Pablo Trapero and Youngjoo Suh
Rating: Unrated
Running time: 113 min
Release Date: July 3 NY

Fox Attacks Bay Over 'Transformers' Sequel

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:07:15 -0800

Source: WENN

The initial Transformers movie, which grossed a reported $701 million worldwide, may have done its part in proving that there is more to Megan Fox than meets the eye, but that has not stopped her from voicing her opinions on the film's sequel.

Fox recently admitted displeasure over Michael Bay's perceived reliance on special effects in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, telling Entertainment Weekly that "this is clearly not a movie about acting."

She quickly backtracked, reminding herself that this film was instrumental in placing her where she currently is now.

Bay simply responded by saying that "she says some very ridiculous things because she's 23 years old and has a lot of growing up to do."

He then pointed out that Shia Lebouf, Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Ben Affleck and Nicolas Cage have achieved success due in part to starring in his movies.

Transformers 2 has grossed around $250 million domestically since opening last Wednesday, and it could hit the $300 million mark this weekend. The sequel should easily eclipse the worldwide gross of its predecessor.

Natal on the Hunt for 'Predators'

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:19:09 -0800

Source: THR

After much speculation, Fox has finally revealed their choice to carry on their popular sci-fi/horror franchise, with the announcement that Nimrod Antal will direct Predators. Produced by Robert Rodriguez, the film will begin production soon and is set to bow July 7, 2010.

Antal may be most familiar with audiences from his work on 2007’s horror flick Vacancy, starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson, which went on to gross a modest $27 million domestically. His newest project, Armored is set to come out this December.

The Predator series, starting with the 80’s classic featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, commands considerable box office presence. The two most recent installments, Alien Versus Predator and the sequel Alien Versus Predator: Requiem, represent more than $290 million in worldwide grosses.

Weekend Cinema Listmania (Special Churchy La Femme Edition)

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:04:51 -0800

Video Event of the Week: Is it Sony's new DVD of The Strange One, a rarely seen gays-in-the-military drama with Ben Gazarra and George Peppard? Could Disney's disc of The Jonas Brothers: The 3D Experience concert flick possibly get the nod? Or is there even the slightest chance that Fox's Blu-ray of 12 Rounds, the latest action flick starring wrestler John Cena and directed by the increasingly risible Renny Harlin, possibly be The One?

All worthy, to be sure (well, not that last, obviously) but for my money it's got to be Warner's remastered version of M Butterfly, David Cronenberg's 1993 adaptation of the sex role-bending stage play by David Henry Hwang .

Actually, this has been out for a couple of weeks, but cut me some slack -- there's been a lot of stuff to ponder of late. Besides, I wanted to write about it because Cronenberg is currently having one of the most interesting third acts of any big deal Hollywood director in memory and (to be honest) I missed this when it first came out theatrically.

The story (inspired by a true incident) is, of course, a fascinating one, with Jeremy Irons playing a married French diplomat, stationed in Beijing in 1964, who finds himself falling head over heels for a Chinese opera performer (John Lone of The Last Emperor) that he believes is a woman. The gender-f**k theme gets played out against the backdrop of history -- the brutal Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 60s intrudes in terrifying fashion -- and playwright Hwang's script also deals, rather wittily, with the biases of both of the protagonists (Lone's character is actually a bit of a bigot). There's also an obvious metaphorical what-is-reality? element here, and the duo's relationship has hall-of-mirrors parallels to that of the Puccini opera that provides the title.

Here's the trailer to give you a little taste.

Critics (and audiences, apparently) back in the day seem to have been flummoxed by the fact that Lone is obviously a guy, but I must say I don't see that as a problem; he's so gorgeous and so seductive (his vaguely Peter Lorre-ish accent is a hoot) that it doesn't strike me, at least, as unlikely that some nerdish functionary could tumble for him and remain in denial about his gender. In any case there's no doubt whatsoever that the character as Irons plays him is absolutely, and rather heartbreakingly, gaga. Actually, my only cavil with the piece is that Hwang really hasn't opened it up all that much and that despite Cronenberg's best efforts it remains a tad stage-bound, although the director does manage some visuals (in the opera scenes, in particular) that will haunt your imagination.

That said, this is one of those films that I think is definitely due for re-evaluation. Warner's new transfer, I'm happy to report, is quite spectacular, with almost eye-popping color and detail (the stylized animated credits sequence is worth the price of admission) and rich, enveloping surround sound (the better to experience yet another supremely effective score by long-time Cronenberg collaborator Howard Shore, who may be the most underrated and versatile film composer currently working). There's also a very interesting new interview with Cronenberg, who talks at some length about why a guy (at the time) mostly identified with horror and related genres was drawn to the project; as he points out, many (if not all) of his earlier films, particularly The Fly and Dead Ringers, were also about the nature of identity.

Bottom line -- a fascinating film and an exemplary package. You can -- and definitely should -- order it here.

And since things are going to be relatively quiet around here until Monday, here's a fun and obviously relevant project for us all to contemplate --

Most Memorable Film Featuring a Shady Dame (Male OR Female)!!!

And my totally top of my head Top Five is:

5. Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur, 1947)

The divine Jane Greer, my favorite film noir babe, betraying Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas and everybody else in sight. Talk about kiss me deadly.

4. Detour (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1945)

The divinely rumpled (and scary as hell) Ann Savage, my second favorite film noir babe, proving that Sartre was right -- hell IS other people -- in Ulmer's beyond remarkable low-budget thriller. BTW, Savage showed up last year in Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg, which definitely behooves beholding.

3. D.O.A. (Rudolph Mate, 1950)

Top-billed Edmund O'Brien is Frank Bigelow, a poor sap who's been fatally slow poisoned and has two days to find his murderer. But the character that really does it for me is Marla Rakubian, a femme fatale played by the memorably ripe Laurette Luez who may or may not be up to her pretty little neck in the conspiracy. The coolest plot in all of noir, obviously, and it occasions some pretty snappy dialogue as well.

Marla: If I were a man, I'd punch your dirty face in!
Frank: You know I really believe you would!

2. Dressed to Kill (Brian de Palma, 1980)

The Citizen Kane of transvestite killer shrink movies, and every bit as good as as that sounds. That's Michael Caine under the wig, in case you haven't seen this uniquely over-the-top genre exercise, which (perhaps tellingly) also features de Palma's then wife Nancy Allen as a sleazy hooker.

And the most memorable film featuring some "woman" you shouldn't trust as far as you can throw "her," self-evidently is ---

1. The Black Bird (David Giler, 1975)

Chabrol, Buñuel and Rohmer muse Stéphane Audran is the beautiful and androgynous daughter of the Russian general who once owned the real Maltese Falcon in a comedy sequel to the Bogart classic. For what it's worth, I seem to be the only person in the world who thinks this film is a hoot, but I think there's one thing we can all agree on -- Audran has quite the most astonishing cheek bones.

Awrighty -- and your choices would be????

‘Ice Age 3’ #1, “Transformers 2” #2 on Wednesday

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:09:55 -0800

Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs outpaced Paramount’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on Wednesday to take first place at the daily box office for the day. However, the race between the two films yesterday was a bit closer than expected, as Ice Age 3 topped Transformers 2 by $2.85 million for the day. That should transfer into to a very close race between the two for first place over the three-day weekend.

Ice Age 3 grossed $13.79 million yesterday. That was well below the $21.79 million opening day performance of 2006’s Ice Age: The Meltdown, though it is hard to make comparisons between the two at this point given that Ice Age 2 opened on a Friday in March. Further complicating matters this weekend is the fact that July 4th falls on a Saturday, an occurrence that hasn’t happened since 1998. As a result we could see unfamiliar fluctuations in the performances of all films over the next few days.

Transformers 2 grossed $10.94 million for the day. The blockbuster sequel from Paramount and DreamWorks was down 19 percent from Tuesday, which represented a solid hold given the new competition it faced from both Ice Age 3 and Public Enemies. However, Transformers 2 was down 82 percent from last weekend’s opening day performance, which marked a harsher decline than the 65 percent The Dark Knight fell one week after its opening day performance last July. Nevertheless, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has grossed a massive $239.38 million in eight days of release and should clear the $300 million mark on either Sunday or Monday.

Universal's Public Enemies debuted in a respectable third place on Wednesday with $8.17 million. The opening day performance for the Michael Mann directed gangster film was within pre-release expectations. At this point Public Enemies, which stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, appears set to see a five-day start somewhere in the $42 million to $50 million range.

Disney’s The Proposal fell two spots to fourth on Wednesday. The romantic comedy was down 14 percent from Tuesday and down 29 percent from last Wednesday. That represented one of the day’s better holds among wide releases, as holdovers saw significant declines across the board yesterday thanks to the new presence of both Ice Age 3 and Public Enemies in the marketplace.

The Hangover was down two spots to round out the day’s top five. Warner’s comedy blockbuster also experienced one of the day’s better holds, as it was down 13 percent from Tuesday and just 22 percent from last Wednesday. The Hangover has grossed $190.78 million in 27 days of release.

UPDATED: Weekend Predictions

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:09:36 -0800

Thursday Afternoon Update (2:09 p.m. PT): Both Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Public Enemies posted strong debut numbers on Wednesday. Ice Age 3 fell made $13.8 million, and Enemies raked in $8.165 million.

As of 2 p.m. PT on Thursday, Fandango.com is reporting that Ice Age 3 is responsible for 28 percent of daily sales, while Public Enemies boasts a respectable 18 percent. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is not far behind with 16 percent, and there's still a decent chance that Michael Bay's extravaganza could claim the #1 spot again over the Friday to Sunday period.

"I think it has a very good shot," says Larry Collins, vice president of film with Carmike Cinemas when asked about a potential Transformers 2 repeat. "But in my own personal opinion I think Ice Age is going to take it."

The biggest obstacle for all films this weekend will be the fact that the 4th of July holiday falls on a Saturday.

"Usually a holiday falling like that hurts," says Jeremy Devine, vice president of marketing with Rave Motion Pictures. "But July can be the exception, because you really begin to see every day become like a holiday. Is it ideal? No. Does it worry me? Not particularly. I think theaters have a chance, based on the varied product, to just be firing on all cylinders for the next ten days or so."

Check out our final weekend predictions in the table below.

	Weekend Predictions: July 3 to July 5, 2009
	Title	Gross (M)	Cume (M)	Locations	Inc./Dec.
1	Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs	$53.5	$79.5	4,099	New
2	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	$50.0	$300.0	4,234	0
3	Public Enemies	$33.0	$48.0	3,334	New
4	The Hangover	$12.0	$205.2	3,070	-54
5	The Proposal	$11.8	$92.8	3,099	+38
6	UP	$8.3	$267.5	2,656	0
7	My Sister's Keeper	$8.0	$28.7	2,606	0
8	Year One	$3.0	$39.3	2,240	-13-
9	The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3	$2.8	$59.1	1,908	-163
10	Star Trek	$2.3	$250.5	1,148	0

Thursday Morning Update (6:33 a.m. PT): Variety is reporting that based on early estimates Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs grabbed $14 million on its opening day, and Public Enemies made $8 million.

Check back often for more details.

Wednesday Afternoon Update (12:50 p.m. PT): As of Noon PT, Fandango.com is reporting that Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is responsible for 46% of daily sales, while Public Enemies represents 21 percent of sales. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen currently boasts 9 percent.

Wednesday Morning Update (11:50 a.m. PT): 20th Century Fox's established animated franchise will face off against Universal's group of cops and robbers over the July 4th weekend. As both Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Public Enemies attempt to record solid debuts, DreamWorks/Paramount's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will try to keep up the momentum from its impressive opening. Unfortunately, the fact that the 4th of July falls on a Saturday this year may hurt all parties involved.

As of 10 a.m. PT, Fandango.com is reporting that Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is responsible for a healthy 58 percent of daily sales, while Public Enemies represents 15 percent and Transformers 2 boasts 10 percent. According to MovieTickets.com, as of 9 a.m. PT Ice Age 3 leads daily sales with 48 percent, while Enemies trails with 18 percent and Transformers 2 has 13 percent.

While it certainly seems that Ice Age 3 will win the weekend, Transformers 2 may not be far behind and it could very well stay on top of the box office. Meanwhile, an R rating will keep Public Enemies from competing too closely with the more commercially accessible flicks.

The first film in the Ice Age series was able to open with $46.3 million domestically—$57.3 million when adjusted for inflation—back in 2002 before grossing an impressive $176.4 million—$218.4 million adjusted—by the end of its run. Three years later, Ice Age: The Meltdown opened with $68 million domestically—$74.5 million adjusted—on its way to $195.3 million domestically—$214.1 million adjusted. The latest installment may grab as much $56 million from Friday to Sunday, and its five-day cume should reach about $89 million.

While mainstream audiences may find his films too contemplative and dry, the presence of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale practically guarantees that director Michael Mann's latest flick will open with solid numbers. Universal needs Enemies to be a hit, and so does Mann. The studio has had a tough time over the last couple of months due to the weak performances of State of Play and Land of the Lost. As for Mann, his box office hauls aren't necessarily justifying the $100 million budgets he has been given recently. 2006's Miami Vice reportedly brought in $162 million worldwide, but considering that its production budget was estimated to be as much as $135 million it probably fell well short of being profitable after advertising costs were factored in. Expect Enemies to grab as much as $36 million from Friday to Sunday and around $55 million over the five-day period.

Considering that Transformers 2 reached the $200 million plateau faster than any other film except The Dark Knight, it is already a success. Whether or not audiences are interested in a second viewing will determine just how much of a success it becomes. The bloated length of the film may hurt it slightly when moviegoers debate another helping. Then again, Michael Bay's extravaganza should still play very well this weekend among teenage audiences who are too old for Ice Age 3 and too young for Enemies. It's a safe bet that film will be very close to the $300 million mark by Sunday, if it doesn't actually hit it, which means that it will have reached the impressive plateau in only 12 days. It took Dark Knight only 10 days.

Check back tomorrow for opening day numbers and our top 10 weekend predictions.

Additional reporting by Daniel Garris.

The Beaches of Agnès (Les plages d'Agnès)

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:55:15 -0800

The Beaches of Agnès is described by its writer/director Agnès Varda as a self-portrait. Called "Grand Dame of the French New Wave," Varda has been a filmmaker for over fifty years. She said she had the idea for Beaches when she realized how many beaches had influenced her life. “These beaches are the thread through which I chose to describe, to friends, family and others, some of my work and the events of my life." The film captures Varda's continual enthusiasm for life and the cinema. This distinctive autobiography will attract cineastes, which should build word of mouth. Interest can be increased when Varda's Beaches are shown in conjunction with her classics like Cleo from 5 to 7 and Vagabond which are discussed in this latest documentary.

She has spent much of her life near the sea and her Beaches follows her personal trajectory. The film moves at a brisk pace with imaginative juxtapositions of scenes of Varda and her family today, historical recreations and film excerpts. Throughout, she gives insightful and often humorous comments of her travels and the people she has encountered.

The first sequence is on a beach in Belgium, the country where Varda spent her childhood. In striking scenes, large mirrors are set up on the sand, reflecting each other and Varda, emphasizing her belief that this documentary offers a mirror into her experiences.

Varda said that one purpose of the film was to make her daydreams real. She poses with circus performers on a beach and, in a delightful scene, floats in a sailboat down the Seine past the Eiffel Tower.

To keep up the theme of her title, six truckloads of sand were unloaded in Paris to create an urban beach. Her production company is amusingly created on sand.

Clips include a young Gerard Depardieu as a beatnik and many of the artists with whom Varda has collaborated like Catherine Deneuve, Robert De Niro and Philippe Noiret.

She speaks with deepest feeling of her late husband Jacques Demy (Umbrellas of Cherbourg) whom she met in 1958 and lived with beginning in 1959, saying that "this grand love venture, such a significant part of my life, weaved itself into my life as a filmmaker." She joined Demy when he worked in Hollywood. Images from that period range from Harrison Ford to Vietnam War protests. For her Beaches, she revisits Venice and Santa Monica.

Varda discusses the pain of Demy's death from AIDS in 1990. Her last non-documentary feature was Jacquot de Nantes in 1990, a tribute to Demy. As a feminist, her films, like Vagabond (1985), became less gentle and less joyful.

At 80, Varda remains a fascinating presence with a unique style. The top center of her hair is white, surrounded by an outer ring of brown, resembling snow on a mountaintop. Varda is still reinventing herself through her work. She has recently begun creating installation art. Describing herself as a "good gleaner (similar to the title of her recent documentary The Gleaners and I) and a recycler," she has found an ingenious use for of an unsuccessful 1966 effort. A metal frame for a shack was built and the walls are made of the film. She calls it "A movie-lovers hut!"

Distributor: Cinema Guild
Director/Screenwriter/Producer: Agnès Varda
Genre: Documentary; French-language, subtitled
Rating: Unrated
Running time: 113 min
Release date: July 1 NY, July 3 LA

Local Color

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:42:49 -0800

More bare-bones cable TV movie than polished feature film, veteran writer/director George Gallo's coming of age indie Local Color, about a young would-be artist (Trevor Morgan) and his elderly mentor (Armin Mueller-Stahl), lacks the quality storytelling and visual beauty needed for all-important critical acclaim and positive word of mouth. Older arthouse fans will enjoy Local Color's easygoing, overly familiar story, arguably the film's strongest asset. Clichéd dialogue, poorly drawn characters and uninspired performances will prevent Thousand Oaks, CA-based distributor Monterey Media from attracting more discerning film fans and a sizable audience.

Artists interested in the film's debates about classic, representational art versus more avant-garde work will be disappointed by how simply Gallo represents the art of painting. Despite the presence of well-known cast members Ray Liotta, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Charles Durning and Samantha Mathis, Local Color has extremely limited potential in the specialty film market and will experience slightly larger audiences on DVD.

In small town New York circa 1974, teenager Johnny Talia (Morgan) convinces veteran painter Nicoli Seroff (Mueller-Stahl) to become his teacher and share all he knows about art. Johnny spends the summer at Seroff's house in rural Pennsylvania and while helping out with daily chores gains a mentor, a friend and the courage to become a professional artist.

Coming of age dramas like Local Color may be audience friendly but suffer by comparison to the many standout entries in the genre: Dead Poets Society and October Sky, among others. While the film's follow-your-dream message is inspiring, its characters and storytelling are superficial. Gallo, clearly inspired by his own story as a young painter in Mamaroneck, NY and his friendship with a Russian artist, fails to craft his sentimentality into something original and compelling. It's difficult to capture the glory of making art, whether painting or poetry, on film. While some standout filmmakers have succeeded, Robert Altman (Vincent & Theo) and Julian Schnabel (Before Night Falls) come to mind, Gallo, so woven into his own story, fails.

Armin Mueller-Stahl is believably colorful as Seroff, a short-tempered curmudgeon with an appetite for vodka. Mueller-Stahl is convincing, whether working in front of his easel or debating his work at the dinner table. The same is not true for Trevor Morgan, a veteran character actor at 22. Boyishly handsome with shaggy dark hair and a thin build, Morgan makes dull use of Johnny's naiveté and shyness. Morgan never brings Johnny alive and without an engaging student, the film's student/teacher drama collapses. Ray Liotta, in a minor role as Johnny's unsupportive father, trots out his wise guy personality in a performance that’s one-note at best. Charles Durning makes no impact as a frame shop owner who introduces Johnny to Seroff. Samantha Mathis, as Seroff's friendly neighbor, gives the most grounded performance in the film.

For Gallo, a longtime writer and director of hit Hollywood comedies, Local Color is a bold reminder that talent in one genre does not always transfer to another. Gallo has the skills for generating laughs. His ability to tug heartstrings remains up for debate. Cameraman Michael Negrin makes good use of the films' Louisiana locations. Unfortunately, clumsy narration and composer Chris Boardman's clumsier score emphasize all the trite aspects of the story.

Marketing campaigns that emphasize Mueller-Stahl and the film's student/teacher relationship will help generate audience support. Visual artists may also provide a small niche audience for the film. Still, despite modest box office potential, Local Color, shot in 2006, may be the start of a successful chapter in dramatic storytelling for Gallo. There's enough good about Local Color to award him additional chances.

Distributor: Monterey Media
Cast: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Trevor Morgan, Ray Liotta, Ron Perlman Samantha Mathis and Charles Durning
Director/Screenwriter: George Gallo
Producers: George Gallo, Jimmy Evangelatos, Julie Lott, David Permut and Mark Sennet
Genre: Drama
Rating: R for language.
Running time: 97 min
Release Date: June 26 LA, July 3 LA, July 10 Exp

The Girl from Monaco

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:30:48 -0800

The Girl from Monaco causes unexpected complications for a sophisticated lawyer and the bodyguard who has been hired to protect him. In these roles, Fabrice Luchini and Roschdy Zem make an accomplished acting team. Though not up to some of director/co-writer Anne Fontaine's earlier efforts, the sunny Mediterranean location combined with some dark behavior should attract average arthouse audiences in urban areas.

Bertrand (Luchini) is a successful lawyer who makes sure he remains in command of his personal relationships as he is of his performances in the courtroom. He arrives in Monaco to defend Édith (Stéphane Audran from many Chabrol films) for the murder of a man with whom she was involved. Édith remains impassive as Bertrand prepares her defense. Because the case has connections to the Russian Mafia, a bodyguard has been employed to protect Bertrand. Christophe (Zem), the bodyguard, silently observes everything around Bertrand, trying to look out for any problems. Bertrand even uses Christophe's services to end a relationship, as Bertrand wants to coolly avoid any romantic complications.

Audrey (Louise Bourgoin) is a weather girl on Monaco television who puts on elaborate on-camera performances as she delivers the weather in flashy costumes. Bertrand becomes enamored with the attractive younger woman, a situation complicated by her previous relationship with Christophe. The uninhibited Audrey is very different from the women with whom Bertrand has been involved. Having known Audrey, Christophe mistrusts her. Audrey tenaciously increases her hold on Bertrand, seeing in him a way to advance from delivering the weather to a comfortable life in Paris.

Fontaine said that the ornate architecture and physical location give Monaco an artificial kitsch out of Walt Disney. She feels this background of glossy movie romances like To Catch a Thief provides a false sense of security, the sort that could inspire someone like Bertrand to lose his critical faculties. Under Fontaine, the fairy tale setting turns sinister. As Bertrand continues the relationship with Audrey, he begins to lose the control he has always maintained in both his personal and professional life. He is out of his comfort zone.

Audrey brings a developing tension and unwelcome unpredictability to Bertrand. Like Audrey, Bourgoin started her career as a weather girl on the leading cable network Canal +. She is also the hostess of a cable program on the same network. Her character has a flamboyance that matches her garish surroundings, which includes a shrine to her favorite celebrity.

Fontaine makes good use of the contrasting personalities of Luchini's intellectual and Zem's physical and taciturn bodyguard. Bertrand was written for Luchini who skillfully shows the changes in his character as his life becomes destabilized. The continually evolving bond between Bertrand and Christophe is the most intriguing part of this film, though this visit to Monaco lacks the psychological intensity of Fontaine's Dry Cleaning and Nathalie.

Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Cast: Fabrice Luchini, Roschdy Zem, Louise Bourgoin, Stéphane Audran and Jeanne Balibar
Director: Anne Fontaine
Screenwriters: Anne Fontaine and Benoît Graffin
Producers: Bruno Pesery and Philippe Carcassonne
Genre: Drama; French-language, subtitled
Running Time: 95 min
Release Date: July 3 ltd.

Canary

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:57:01 -0800

A back-yard aesthetic is employed to explore the effects of organ harvesting in this Sci-fi story set in modern times. Without a discernable protagonist, the camera acts like our only consistent character; a nameless and uniformed interloper gesturing towards actions we never see and can only piece together afterwards. Emphasis is placed on the quiet and disturbing spaces between the life threatening and unexplained events occurring off screen. This one should be a darling on the fest circuit and prove a worthy calling card for sophomore helmer Alejandro Adams. With some attention, this could instigate a new mini-movement, but without a distributor and tube plans strong numbers are hard to forecast.

The film plays with the idea that globalization will progress to produce a corporation that harvests its products from humans; evolution (on all levels) is staggeringly relevant but never explicitly Cronenbergian. Adams inserts sociological commentary on the logistical rationale behind the world of the film: we see callous advertising executives brainstorming ways to take the sting out of impromtu organ “donation,” news reporters trying to unearth the story from a clearly damaged organ harvester and feckless middlebrow office employees thoughtlessly “consulting” children on their financial responsibility to care for their borrowed parts (“or we’ll have to take them back!”). Those from which the organs are taken are largely foreign. The scene in which we see the first organ harvest is as breathtakingly terse as it is alien. Without the benefit of subtitles, we hear a family having a slightly heated discussion in a Slavic language. A young man practices piano while his sisters read magazines in an adjacent room and his father slightly berates him. Meanwhile, the harvester lurks unnoticed in the hallway. She says not a word the whole film and always wears a bright white jumpsuit—yet she seems invisible to those around her. She is the ghost in the machine. When she comes around the corner, now with a gas mask, she sprays an aerosol can in the room and all the bodies drop. Next we see her in the back of a van spreading mysterious green goo on the piano players stomach. As he’s a well-built piano player, this is as close as the film gets to titillation. (The rest of the suspense is sans T&A.)

Ultimately, Canary is a loosely plotted suspense film whose apparent disinterest in creating tension produces its own disturbingly acute brand of anxiety—it’s quite an evolution. Adams’ first film, Around the Bay, is a micro-indie about a wayward father and his unmaintained relationship with his daughter. Around felt similarly unmoored, but Canary’s premise reveals more overt planning than Adam’s first. Adams’ camerawork, which constantly skates over the surface of information, treats each crucial detail as casually as something only slightly relevant to the story: in this world, literally nothing is sacred. If you were to project the emotional lethargy and hummingbird heartbeat attention span of Slacker onto J.J. Abrams TV drama Lost you’d be getting close to Canary. The genius of Adam’s directorial practice is the way it forces the audience to participate and assume a form of complicity in this deranged alternate universe. We become complicit in the form of intellectual commerce each of the film’s characters intermittently obsesses over. As the characters ask each other we ask along: “How would we market mass organ harvesting?” (All agree it’s fine so long as it doesn’t happen to you or anyone you care about.) And here, the loosely woven story finds its aesthetic root. As the camera floats from stranger to stranger, each of them unknowingly in threat of losing needful parts, the camera never trains on one long enough to make the story human. It’s the audience who struggles to make these characters human—and all while they’re all doing terribly inhuman things. It becomes quite a quandary.

It’s truly seldom you see an aesthetic, particularly one as overused as the handheld video-cam, employed so judiciously and with such artless efficiency. It’s not hyperbolic to suggest the direction could influence or be part of a new trend in filmmaking. The space of time that allowed for happily accidental home movies about what’s going on next-door narrows daily and something new needs to force itself into a space. Make no mistake: this camera is a weapon.

Distributor: Unset
Cast: Carla Pauli, Sarah Eismann, Jennifer Latch and Ailsa Adams
Director: Alejandro Adams
Screenwriters: Alejandro Adams, Michael Samuelson and Sammy Samuelson
Producers: Alejandro Adams, Marja Adams, Amanda Davis and Marja Murphy
Genre: Sci-fi/Indie
Rating: Unrated
Running time: 93 min
Release date: Unset

'Poker House' Rights Snagged by Phase 4

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:00:45 -0800

Source: THR

Upstart distribution company Phase 4 Films has acquired rights to The Poker House, Lori Petty’s directorial debut.

The film stars Selma Blair (Hellboy), comedian David Alan Greer (Bewitched) and newcomer Jennifer Lawrence as Agnes, a teenage girl forced to mother her younger siblings while her own parents solicit their home for gambling, drugs and sex. Lawrence won the Outstanding Performance Award at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival for her portrayal of the character.

Poker House, booked for limited theatrical release on July 17 in the U.S., was co-written by Petty and Greer, who starred together in the 1994 comedy In the Army Now.

Second Helping of 'Enemies'

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:15:23 -0800

I caught the 10 p.m. show of Public Enemies last night at my local Carmike, and I'm kind of relieved to say that it played much better the second time around. The problem is that mainstream moviegoers won't be so willing to give it a second chance if they aren't entertained the first time.

I first saw the film at last Thursday's all-media screening in Manhattan, and I wasn't totally sold on it. Something didn't click. I enjoyed Johnny Depp's performance and some of the sequences really blew me away, but the entire experience left be a bit underwhelmed.

Now I'm convinced that Michael Mann has really made an excellent film. I still have my reservations though, which include Billy Crudup's distracting performance as well as the way that the digital cinematography looks in certain daytime scenes. These are small complaints though, and as a whole I feel much more enthusiastic.

Enemies reportedly grabbed $8 million on Wednesday. That's a respectable debut. Since it skews older, it would have been unfair to expect Enemies to have a blockbuster opening day. As it stands now, the Universal release is still heading for a strong opening weekend.

Jolie, Aniston Named Hollywood's Top Female Earners

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:00:12 -0800

Source: Forbes

When it comes to raking in money in Hollywood, no actress has proven more successful than Angelina Jolie, a fact that was validated by Forbes.com, who labeled her as the highest-earning female star on the silver screen.

Jolie reportedly earned $27 million in the past year, edging out Brad Pitt's ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, who earned $25 million in the same period.

Most of Jolie's earnings have come from her supporting turn in the action film Wanted, a production that grossed $339 million worldwide, along with her upcoming role in the film Salt.

Aniston, by comparison, has drawn her earnings from her role in Marley and Me, which earned $243 million worldwide, and her new role in the upcoming film The Baster.

Along with her movie roles, Aniston is still paid for her appearances in Friends and advertising for Glaceau's Smartwater.

Meryl Streep, Sarah Jessica Parker and Cameron Diaz rounded out the top five. Streep earned $24 million, mainly from her role in Mamma Mia, which grossed $601 million worldwide, while Parker's Sex and the City earned $401 million worldwide. Diaz earned $20 million between June 2008 and June 2009.

Sony Changes '10 Release Dates

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:44:32 -0800

Source: Variety

In attempt to strengthen its Summer 2010 release slate, Sony has moved two new comedies from Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen into that period.

Sandler's Grown Ups will move from March 12 to June 25, while Rogen's The Green Hornet will bow on July 9.

Sandler is coming off the success of Bedtimes Stories, which grossed $110 million domestically after opening during the Christmas holiday. The famous funnyman's box office clout has been waning slightly, but he still represents a significant draw.

Rogen, on the other hand, just recently experienced in one of the first major failures of his career as a leading man. Observe and Report left a bitter taste in the mouths of moviegoers, and it grossed only $24 million domestically.

The two actors will be seen together later this month in Judd Apatow's latest directorial effort, Funny People.

What Year is It Anyway?

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:02:51 -0800

If you're like me -- an admittedly terrifying prospect -- you go to so many movies and get so many videos that ultimately you have trouble remembering what if anything you've actually seen and what you thought about the films at the time. Hey, I'm not complaining, just describing something of an occupational hazard.

Anyway, I was looking through my stack of DVDs for review yesterday and noticed a two disc package, from the nice folks at Touchstone, of the adorable Isla Fisher in Confessions of a Shopaholic. And swear to god, for a moment or two, I couldn't for the life of me remember a thing about it other than I'd (probably) killed the better part of an hour and half enduring it in a theater at some point.

Fortunately, the site you're reading me on has a very efficient search engine, and I soon discovered that I'd written the following thumbnail review back in February --

An airhead runs up a sixteen thousand dollar credit card bill on high-fashion scarves and in the current catastrophic economic climate I'm supposed to care?

-- and it all came rushing back.

Anyway, I watched the thing again last night, and I more or less stand by the assessment. It's a very peculiar film, in a certain sense -- a quintessentially 80s yuppie consumerist fantasy washed up on the shores of the 21st century with very little awareness of the fact the world has changed since the days of Alex Keaton. That said, Fisher really is adorable as the aforementioned airhead, and it would be curmudgeonly of me (not to mention a lie) to say that I didn't laugh from time to time.

Here's the trailer to give you an idea what I'm talking about.

Touchstone's two-disc set features an exemplary transfer and a couple of moderately interesting bonuses (outtakes, deleted scenes, and a music video); plus you can download a digital copy of the flick onto your iPod, athough I can't imagine really wanting to to. In any case, you can -- and I won't hold it against you if you do -- order it here

Universal Takes on 'Asteroids'

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:53:05 -0800

Source: THR

Video game developer Atari has agreed to a deal with Universal over film rights to the influential 1979 game Asteroids. The upcoming adaptation will be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and the script will be done by Matthew Lopez. The original Asteroids, while without a specific plot, featured a triangular spaceship players would manipulate while dodging and destroying chunks of rock.

Lopez’s past writing credits include 2008’s Bedtime Stories as well as this year’s Race to Witch Mountain, which met with relative success at the box office, grossing $67 million domestically.

Long-time producer Di Bonaventura has worked on several blockbuster titles, including the currently-in-theaters Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, currently boasting more than $228 million in grosses after only one week of release, along with the upcoming G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

June Box Office Recap

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:43:57 -0800

For a third straight month a new monthly record was set at the domestic box office. However, as was the case in both April and May, the combined box office for June of 2009 fell short of setting a new record when adjusting for ticket price inflation. The overall box office for June totaled $1.09 billion, which topped the previous June record of $1.04 billion (set last year) by 4.8 percent. The adjusted record for the month stands at $1.16 billion and is shared by June 2002 and June 2004.

The performance of the box office in June was especially impressive given that heading into the month it appeared that matching June 2008 would be a tough task. But thanks in large part to the extraordinary holding power displayed by both Disney’s UP and Warner’s The Hangover throughout the month; June 2009 was able to exceed expectations.

After a stronger than expected opening weekend at the end of May, UP experienced terrific weekend declines of 35 percent, 30 percent and 24 percent, before finally falling 44 percent during the last weekend of the month. The Hangover, which is clearly one of the year’s most profitable and most surprising releases, saw even smaller weekend declines of just 27 percent, 18 percent and 36 percent after its opening weekend performance during the first week of June. Together grosses for the two films represented 34.5 percent of the month’s total box office.

The other big story in June was Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The highly anticipated sequel from Paramount and DreamWorks opened with $200.1 million in its first five days of release. The film grossed $228.4 million in its first seven days, which made it the highest grossing film of the month. Prior to the release of Transformers 2, June of 2009 frequently trailed the pace of June 2008, but that trend turned around very quickly with the unleashing of Transformers 2 on June 24th.

Disney had another very solid June performer in The Proposal. The romantic comedy exceeded expectations and delivered the largest opening weekend performance to date, both unadjusted and adjusted, for star Sandra Bullock. The Proposal benefited from an advertising campaign that worked very well and from being an alternative to the many sci-fi and action films of May and June.

Another impressive aspect of the record breaking performance in June was the fact that four of the month’s nine wide releases were notable disappointments to various degrees. While expectations were modest for Paramount’s Imagine That, the Eddie Murphy vehicle was dead on arrival and was barely able to outgross last year’s Meet Dave, Murphy’s last box office bomb. Sony’s The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, which opened during the same weekend as Imagine That, did manage to debut on the lower end of expectations. However, the thriller starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta held up much weaker than expected in the days after its opening weekend and also carried a lofty price tag.

Sony also experienced disappointing results with Year One. The comedy starring Jack Black and Michael Cera looked to be in good shape after its first day of release, but fell-off extremely quickly the following day and wasn’t able to regain any momentum afterwards. The month’s biggest disappointment was arguably Universal’s big-screen adaptation of Land of the Lost. The expensive Will Ferrell vehicle was unable to hold its own against the surprising debut of The Hangover at the beginning of the month and like Year One, also fell off rather quickly after its opening weekend.

The overall box office for the first half of 2009 stands at $5.23 billion, placing it a healthy 11.6 percent ahead of last year’s overall box office at the same point in time.

For the month of June, the top ten films were as follows:

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($228.4 million), The Hangover ($188.4 million), UP ($186.9 million), The Proposal ($75.2 million), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian ($60.6 million), The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 ($55.0 million), Land of the Lost ($47.2 million), Star Trek ($38.0 million), Year One ($34.6 million) and Terminator Salvation ($31.3 million).

$228.4 Million for ‘Transformers 2’ in One Week

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:51:20 -0800

Paramount’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen rounded out its first week in theatres with another strong first place performance on Tuesday. The sci-fi action sequel grossed $13.51 million for the day, which was down a very respectable 9 percent from Monday. Transformers 2 was the only wide release to see a decline yesterday, but that was quite understandable given the size of the film’s daily grosses at this point. Grosses across the board were mostly up by significant percentages over Monday, likely due in part to moviegoers catching up on various films on the eve of the debuts of Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Universal’s Public Enemies.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen grossed $228.44 million in its first seven days, which ranks as the second largest seven-day gross of all time, behind only the $238.62 million seven-day start of The Dark Knight last July. Transformers 2 is currently running 38 percent ahead of the pace of 2007’s Transformers. Looking ahead to the upcoming holiday weekend, Transformers 2 will likely have to settle for a close second place finish, but could still remain in first if Ice Age 3 were to debut below pre-release expectations.

After slowing down a bit over the weekend, Disney’s The Proposal has rebounded nicely over the past two days. The romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds grossed $3.29 million on Tuesday to remain in second. The Proposal was up 19 percent from Monday and down 30 percent from last Tuesday. The film has grossed a better than expected $75.21 million in 12 days of release.

The Hangover remained in third place on Tuesday with $2.75 million. The R-rated comedy blockbuster from Warner Bros. was up 7 percent from Monday and down just 21 percent from last Tuesday as the film’s holding power still remains incredibly strong. The Hangover has grossed $188.38 million in 26 days and will likely cross the $200 million mark on Saturday.

Like The Proposal, Disney’s UP was also up 19 percent from Monday. The tenth computer animated feature film from Pixar grossed $2.57 million for the day, which brings its 33-day total to $254.97 million. UP was down a slim 12 percent from last Tuesday, which suggests that the film could experience a solid hold this weekend even with the added presence of Ice Age 3.

My Sister’s Keeper rounded out the day’s top five with $2.27 million. The Nick Cassavetes directed drama starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin was up a solid 12 percent over Monday. My Sister’s Keeper has grossed $16.75 million in five days of release. Much like 2004’s The Notebook, which was also directed by Cassavetes and released towards the end of June, My Sister’s Keeper is performing relatively stronger on weekdays than it is on weekends thus far.

BOXOFFICE.com's predictions for the weekend can be read here.

Karl Malden Dies at 97

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:50:04 -0800

Legendary actor Karl Malden died in his Brentwood, Los Angeles home on Wednesday at the age of 97.

Malden won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in A Streetcar Named Desire, and he was also best known for his roles in Patton, On the Waterfornt and television's The Streets of San Francisco.

Malden's last major film role was in 1987's Nuts, opposite Barbara Streisand and Richard Dreyfuss.

What Recession?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:59:41 -0800

The latest summer smash is transforming more than just cars into audience-pleasing robots.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is changing the stock portfolios of some of the country’s biggest theater chains.

The stocks for Carmike, Regal and Cinemark, three of the biggest publicly traded domestic theater chains, shot up 10 percent, 7 percent and 6 percent, respectively, since the Transformers sequel opened June 24. The theatrical advertising firm National CineMedia also got a boost, with its stocks jumping 9 percent.

Those numbers paled compared to the spike IMAX stocks enjoyed - a 19 percent bump since Revenge opened nationwide.

Isn’t there a recession going on?

What makes the exhibition industry so appealing to investors in the midst of a highly unstable market?

Merriman Curhan Ford analyst Eric Wold predicted late last year U.S. box office figures would remain strong in 2009 despite the looming recession.

Consumers want to find ways to satisfy their entertainment needs close to home and at a reasonable price, Wold says. And what better way to do so than via movies, particularly light-hearted comedies (Paul Blart: Mall Cop) and action adventures (Star Trek, Revenge of the Fallen)?

Booming ticket sales, and higher concession sales which provide a better profit margin, made exhibitor stocks a relatively safer bet in a down economy, he says.

Ron Rizzuto, professor of finance at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, says the cyclical nature of movie going could also play a part.

That, combined with the depth of the current recession, has “people hunkered down a bit more than in the past,” Rizzuto says.

In trying times, the demand for cheap entertainment alternatives, and even a guilty pleasure like chocolate, tends to rise, he says.

“You can indulge yourself a little bit,” he says, all the while being more selective about bigger ticket leisure items like vacations and concerts.

Transformers 2 may be goosing the box office at the moment, but the summer movies prior to the sequel’s arrival also delivered.

“Look at the box office data before Transformers. The numbers were up, not huge, but noticeably up from prior years,” says Rizzuto.

Wold predicts box office numbers will remain strong in the current environment. The summer’s other surefire hit, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, hasn’t even hit theaters yet. And wild cards like Sacha Baron Cohen’s Brüno could also juice theater chain’s revenues.

That means their stock prices will likely stay solid or even grow a bit more.

Plus, Wold says 2009 movie goers don’t mind paying extra to see their favorite characters either in 3D or IMAX venues. If the big theater chains can ramp up their 3D screen installations, stock prices could benefit.

“You should see another wave of attendance and box office growth beyond the current
wave we're in,” Wold says.

Of course, if a parade of cinematic stinkers visits theaters between now and Labor Day, the stock situation could change for the worse.

“Historically, the biggest driving factor getting consumers into the movies has been the quality of movies. If there is a wave of unpopular films, then we would definitely see box office numbers trail off quickly,” Wold says.

Ruffalo, Moore, Bening join 'Kids'

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:39:55 -0800

Source: Variety

Mark Ruffalo, Annette Bening and Julianne Moore will reportedly star in Lisa Chodolenko’s indie flick titled The Kids Are All Right. The film, written by Chodolenko and Stuart Blumberg, centers on a brother and sister searching for their biological father (Ruffalo), an anonymous sperm donor for their same-sex parents (Bening and Moore).

Chodolenko covered similar territory in High Art, her feature debut that was released in 1998. She has since helmed Laurel Canyon, which collected $3.66 million domestically in 2002, and Cavedweller.

Bening appeared in The Women last fall while Ruffalo and Moore costarred in Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness, which fizzled out with a disappointing $3.07 million domestic box office gross last year.

'Informant' Trailer Premieres

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:31:34 -0800

After working together on the Ocean's trilogy, Matt Damon and Steven Soderbergh have teamed up once again for The Informant, and the trailer is now available online.

2009 is shaping up to be a huge year for Damon. He'll be seen in the Iraq drama Green Zone from director Paul Greengrass as well as Invictus from Clint Eastwood. Expect an Oscar nomination or even two.

Damon's last major role was in 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum, which grossed a staggering $227.5 million domestically.

Informant represents a return to the mainstream for Soderbergh after making The Girlfriend Experience and Che, which were released by Magnolia and IFC, respectively.

Les Auteurs Must Be Crazy

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:06:20 -0800

Guess who's coming to Broadway?

Hint: He's a legendary comedian and filmmaker that the kids at Cahiers du Cinema refer to as "L'Idiote Stupide."

From yesterday's New York Times:

Hey, ladies (and gentlemen)! Jerry Lewis is headed back to Broadway, this time in the director’s chair. The veteran comedian, last seen on a Broadway stage as Applegate in the revival of Damn Yankees in 1995, will direct a musical adaptation of his hit 1963 comedy, The Nutty Professor, that is planned for the 2010-11 season. That film starred Mr. Lewis as the nebbishy Julius Kelp, who invents a formula that transforms him into the debonair Buddy Love. (A 1996 remake starred Eddie Murphy as the overweight Sherman Klump and his suave alter ego.) The adaptation will feature music by Marvin Hamlisch (A Chorus Line) and lyrics and book by Rupert Holmes (Curtains).

That's some heavyweight talent, and I actually think that The Nutty Professor is a terrific template for a musical comedy; after all, the Jekyll and Hyde thing notwithstanding, it's essentially the Faust story, just like Little Shop of Horrors, and that worked pretty well onstage.

Anyway, here's hoping that the new show has a musical number at least as terrific as this one, from another of Jerry's early, funny films -- the 1958 classic Rock-a-Bye Baby.

If truth be told, I really posted that video for lurking fans of the whole downtown NYC Noise Rock scene of the 80s. You know -- Mars, DNA, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks...bands like that. And speaking of DNA, as you will doubtless notice, Jerry's guitar solos sound pretty much exactly like that band's Arto Lindsay. Obviously, if Jerry had been hanging out on the Bowery circa 1984, it wouldn't just have been the French hailing him as a genius.

Nighy Joins 'Potter' Cast

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:16:27 -0800

Source: The Independent

British actor Bill Nighy will be joining the cast of the final installment of the popular fantasy franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, according to reports. Production on Deathly Hallows is already underway and is scheduled to be released as two separate films in November 2010 and July 2011.

Nighy is no stranger to big budget fantasy fare like Harry Potter, having recently starred in last year’s Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which grossed a profitable, but menial $45.8 million in the U.S. Audiences may also remember Nighy from such films as Shaun of the Dead and for his role as Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, which combined for an incredible $732 million in ticket sales domestically.

Swingers: Married and Hating It

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:23:43 -0800

If you watch the new trailer for Couples Retreat and think about it as a sequel to Swingers that takes place 10 years down the road after Mike (Jon Favreau) and Trent (Vince Vaughn) have gotten married and become unhappy, then it adds an entirely new layer to what already looks like an agreeable romantic comedy.

It's great to see Favreau and Vaughn playing off each other again. They've both found plenty of success since Swingers put them on the map in 1996, and it's refreshing to know that they haven't forgotten their roots. They also deserve some major kudos for bringing Jason Bateman along for the ride. That guy can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned, because he was the best thing about Juno and he effortlessly stole scenes away from Will Smith and Charlize Theron in Hancock and from Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck in State of Play.

Expect Retreat to do very solid business when it opens this October.

Died Young, Stayed Pretty

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:44:37 -0800

This Canadian doc about the micro-sphere of rock poster designers lurches along with just the right mix of discovery and dry-obsession that it has the potential to reach the hearts of its poster manic, indie band loving constituency. While financial prospects are as small scale as the posters, the potential of the film to reach the community it reflects is really high, particularly with forward thinking efforts on part of theater owners. If your town has an indie rock venue (and most do), consider a screening. All the alt community has to do is know and it’s unlikely they’ll miss it.

The first few minutes of Died Young doubles as its trailer. Sadly, it’s trailer is choppy and hard to follow. Since the film eventually finds its stride, one could imagine debut director Eileen Yaghoobian might be trying to mimic the poster community’s brand of cultural disorientation—but that might also be a touch convenient. We see artists in their studios (some more apportioned than others), in bars, posting signs on lamp posts, visiting dye shops, seemingly breaking into buildings in the middle of the night to do their work, and what registers most is the awareness there isn’t yet room for their trade in broader spheres: after decades making posters for bands who grow from tiny fish into whales these poster designers still remain undiscovered. A scene in which one of the designers is actively pushing his posters on a disinterested band manager in a parking lot infers that even the bands who benefit from what’s far too sophisticated to be called “fan art” aren’t even that hungry for it.

However often, the designer’s only pay is free shows and free beers. These artists sometimes never see fees for their labors and hand over their products to support the bands they love. It’s a poverty row operation that looks like a frequently functional, if cobbled-together, system of barter and mutual affection. If handmade, it exists and creates the necessary tension between Art and the Underground that most fringe movements enjoy—if you call what they do enjoying, that is.

Art seems to always be on death’s door, or at least well past its “sell by” date. The tenuous relationship certain mediums have with permanence makes it easy to declare things like “Art is dead,” but we all know there’s more to it than that—or rather, death should maybe have quotation marks around it. The universe of band poster art relies upon music in a strangely parallel way. Bands aren’t just advertised on these highly ornate posters, their identities are ascribed and explored but without direct dialogue with the bands—it’s the perspective of the artist that forms the tone of the poster and therefore that specific representation of the band. The posters thereafter transcend their use as alerts for shows and become what one designer calls “artifacts.”

It’s arguable that these posters, with their frequent and unsentimental obsession with death and old porn, rally around the culture’s fears and compulsions. Irony is a touch-and-go bedfellow, here. The snarky and retaliatory re-use of these images (think Jesus with in an Elvis suit) are both a reclamation of and a retaliation of a history unknown to the people who designed the posters—but in a cultural landscape that moves so quickly it’s impossible to find a firm place to stand. This said, it’s pretty logical to rehash the old. It’s as close to nostalgia for stability as we can get. A commentator in the film said this: “Culture is the stuff you shovel out of your window at the end of the night to keep from drowning you.” One presumes that these posters, often built of disregarded ideas and parts, are part of that detritus. That and so much else we might or might not actually need, but want terribly nonetheless.

Distributor: Eileen Yaghoobian
Director: Eileen Yaghoobian
Genre: Documentary
Rating: Unrated
Running time: 95 min
Release date: June 29 SF

‘Transformers 2’ Strong on Monday

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:53:44 -0800

Paramount’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen continued to control the daily box office with ease on Monday. The Summer blockbuster grossed $14.85 million yesterday, which represented roughly one half of the combined box office take of all films for the day. Transformers 2 was down 54 percent from Sunday, which was nearly on par with the 55 percent daily slides both Transformers and Harry Potter 5 experienced on their respective first Mondays in July of 2007.

Transformers 2 has grossed $214.93 million in just six days of release. That ranks as the second largest six-day gross of all-time (behind only last year’s The Dark Knight). Through six days, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is running just 3 percent behind the pace of The Dark Knight, 38 percent ahead of Transformers and 43 percent ahead of Harry Potter 5.

The Proposal remained in second place with $2.76 million on Monday. The romantic comedy from Disney was down a solid 48 percent from Sunday, but was down 41 percent from last Monday. The 11-day gross for The Proposal stands at $71.92 million. When The Proposal crosses the $100 million mark in the near future, it will become the first Sandra Bullock film to do so since 2000’s Miss Congeniality, and the first Bullock film since 2003’s Two Weeks Notice to do so when adjusting for ticket price inflation.

Warner’s The Hangover continued to holdover well as the film grossed $2.58 million for the day. That represented a 50 percent fall from Sunday, and a slide of just 32 percent from last Monday. The Hangover has grossed an amazing $185.63 million in 25 days and looks set to see another solid performance over the upcoming holiday weekend.

After experiencing its largest weekend decline to date this past weekend, Disney’s UP rebounded nicely on Monday. The computer animated blockbuster from Pixar grossed $2.16 million yesterday, which was down 47 percent from Sunday and down only 23 percent from last Monday. However, UP could experience a notable drop on Wednesday when Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs lands in theatres.

My Sister’s Keeper experienced the day’s best daily hold among wide releases. The drama from Warner Bros. starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin grossed $2.04 million on Monday, which was down just 40 percent from Sunday. After experiencing a large decline on Saturday, the film rebounded nicely on both Sunday and Monday. My Sister’s Keeper has grossed $14.48 million in four days, which is in line with pre-release expectations.

Clooney Leaves WB for Sony

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:51:26 -0800

After finding success together with such films as the Ocean's trilogy and Michael Clayton, Warner Bros. and George Clooney will be parting ways. The multihyphenate is reportedly in final negotiations to sign a two-year theatrical development and production deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The Perfect Storm and Ocean's 11 were Clooney's biggest box office hits while working with Warner Bros. Storm made $182.6 million domestically in 2000—which equates to around $243.2 million when adjusted for inflation. Meanwhile, Ocean's 11 grabbed $183.4 million in 2001—$233 million when adjusted.

The relationship wasn't always successful. Clooney teamed with Steven Soderbergh for 2006's The Good German, a black-and-white throwback to films like Casablanca which was bashed by critics and grossed only slightly more than $1 million domestically.

Clooney will be next be seen in Up in the Air and The Men Who Stare at Goats, which are both pegged for release this year. The Oscar-winning actor is also the lead voice in Wes Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox, a November release.

Capturing a 'Stoning'

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:38:44 -0800

With the current political turmoil taking place in Iran, the entire world is paying attention to the violence and bloodshed that is plaguing the country. Yet in the small villages of Iran there is a barbaric method of punishment that is still practiced, and it is receiving far less media attention.

With The Stoning of Soroya M., which is currently playing at select locations, writer/director Cyrus Nowrasteh uses the death of one woman at the hands of the village she lived in to shed light on the disturbing practice of stoning. Soroya M. is based on the true story of a writer (Jim Caviezel) whose car breaks down in a small Iranian village and is approached by a woman named Zahra (Shohreh Aghdashloo) who proceeds to recount the titular stoning in the hopes that the injustice will reach the outside world.

The story is gut wrenching and at times difficult to watch as Soroya M. is rapidly and irrationally led to the slaughter by an abusive, greedy husband and complacent villagers. Soroya M. is certainly moving audiences, considering that it recently won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

The stoning sequence itself, which was filmed over six days, certainly doesn't shy away from the reality of the situation, and moviegoers may draw comparisons to The Passion of the Christ. For Nowrasteh, there really was no other way to shoot it.

"I felt that it would be a disservice to all of those women, and there are even too many to keep track of," says Nowrasteh when asked if he ever considered being less graphic. "I wanted the audience to never forget what they witness here. To see the stoning as it is done, and how it is done."

For Nowrasteh, who also served as a writer on The Path to 9/11 and The Day Reagan Was Shot, there were some real-life examples of stonings that he was able to directly draw from.

"I have seen them on tape, they're horrible," he says. "I felt [the stoning sequence] needed to be powerful and graphic, but not so much where people are screaming out in the theater."

For Aghdashloo (The House of Sand and Fog), Soroya M. represented a drastic change of pace from her recent performance in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, which allowed her to visit beautiful locations and have fun with the young cast. The process of making Soroya M. definitely came with some disturbing moments for Aghdashloo. It wasn't always easy to shake the graphic nature of the project at the end of the day.

"Every night when we used to come back to the hotel, I would do my chores and go to bed and try to sleep," recalls Aghdashloo. "As soon as I would sleep I would see myself just coming back from work and I would open the bathroom door and see a dead infant floating in the bathtub, and then I would wake up. It was so horrible, that I would wake myself up."

Even though Soroya M. represented an intense filming experience, Aghdashloo is very proud of the film's strength.

"This movie needs to be shown in the countries where it is most needed to be watched," says Aghdashloo. "Not only in the capitals and big cities, but it also should find its way to the villages on the backs of camels and donkeys and it would be shown on a piece of white material to villagers who have no television yet."

After filming wrapped, Aghdashloo and co-writer Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh each wrote Soroya's name on a piece of paper and sent it down a local river as a gesture of completion.

"I prayed for her soul and begged of her to let me alone now that I have paid my dues and fulfilled my duty, and now I need to go and do other stories," says Aghdashloo.

Regal Entertainment Group Announces Grand Opening Details for River Point Stadium 14

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:32:16 -0800

Knoxville, Tennessee - June 30, 2009 - Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), a leading motion picture exhibitor owning and operating the largest theatre circuit in the world, today announced grand opening details for the new Regal Cinemas in Sheridan, Colorado. River Point Stadium 14 will host preview events with $2 movies for three full days to benefit local charities. The cinema's official grand opening will be Wednesday, July 15 with first-run features including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Moviegoers will enjoy free popcorn and free soft drinks with each paid admission July 15 - 23.

"During this exciting summer movie season, we are pleased to open the state-of-the-art Regal River Point Stadium 14 in Sheridan. River Point Stadium 14 increases Regal Entertainment Group's presence in the Denver market to a total of 10 theatres with 120 screens," stated Dick Westerling, Regal Entertainment Group Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising. "River Point Stadium 14 will open with a weekend of preview events raising money for local charities while offering $2 movies. The preview events culminate in a fireworks show Monday evening July 13th choreographed to songs from great movies of the past. The free fireworks show will light up the sky in Sheridan to celebrate the grand opening."

The new facility is modern in every way, equipped with RealD® 3D to provide true-to-life 3D. RealD is a new generation of digital 3D, giving moviegoers a stunningly realistic movie experience that engages the imagination, activates the senses and invites the audience not only to watch a film, but also step inside the story. Upcoming Digital 3D movies include Disney's G-Force (7/24/09), The Final Destination (8/28/09), and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs (9/18/09).

The 14 screen theatre covers approximately 55,000 square feet and includes more than 2,300 seats. Moviegoers will enjoy stadium seating, with each row elevated for an unobstructed view, and high-back rocking chairs feature cupholder armrests which move out of the way to form seats for two.

Everyone is invited to enjoy this new entertainment destination on Saturday, July 11; Sunday, July 12; and Monday, July 13. These preview events will feature $2 movies, $2 popcorn and $2 soft drinks with proceeds benefiting local charities.

PREVIEW EVENTS - $2 Movies, $2 Popcorn, $2 Soft Drinks
Saturday, July 11: "Regal's Popcorn Pep Rally"
Sponsored KUSA NBC 9
Proceeds to benefit VOA "Stuff for Schools" Program
Sunday, July 12: "Read It and See It at Regal"
Sponsored by Denver Post
Proceeds to benefit Variety - The Children's Charity of Colorado
Monday, July 13: "Family Day at Regal"
Sponsored by 95.7 The Party
Proceeds to benefit Adoption Exchange
9:15PM "Salute to Cinema" free outdoor fireworks show choreographed to movie theme songs

Movies & Showtimes

GRAND OPENING: Wednesday, July 15
First-run films including: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Regal Treatment: Enjoy free popcorn & soft drink with paid admission July 15 - 23.

Free T-Shirts: Receive a free Harry Potter T-shirt with the first 100 tickets sold each day at the box office July 17 - 19.

Grand Opening Sweepstakes: Sign-up or use your Regal Crown Club card from July 15 through August 14 for a chance to win a $2,000 MasterCard Gift Card.

River Point Stadium 14 will offer the Regal Crown Club to reward frequent guests. More than 14-million moviegoers have joined this industry-leading loyalty program. Through the Regal Crown Club patrons accumulate credits at the box office and concession stand to earn free popcorn, soft drinks and movies. Free membership is available at the theatre or online.

'Unstoppable' Derailed For Now

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:29:32 -0800

Source: THR

Tony Scott’s Unstoppable, previously scheduled for production this fall, has run into a barricade of budget problems and will likely be put on the backburner at Fox.

Denzel Washington (American Gangster) and Chris Pine (Star Trek) are attached to star in the renegade train pic, but neither has inked a deal. Washington’s high price tag—he earns an average of $20 million per film—may be stymieing budget discussions. Scott’s salary is yet to be determined as well.

The studio has also voiced qualms about the high production cost, a staple in Scott’s recent action projects. His big-budget ventures in the last decade include Déjà vu with $64 million domestically, Man on Fire with $78 million and Spy Game with $62.3 million.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, the fourth collaboration between Scott and Washington, has managed to reel in only $53 million domestically since its June 5 release. The film’s underachieving gross will certainly influence Fox as it slashes Unstoppable's budget.

Adams May Join 'Fighter'

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:27:48 -0800

Source: Variety

Amy Adams is reportedly in negotiations to join Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale in The Fighter, which will be directed by David O. Russell.

The young actress most recently appeared opposite Ben Stiller in Night at the Museuem: Battle of the Smithsonian, which has brought in $164 million domestically since opening in May. Later this summer, she'll star opposite Meryl Streep in the the cooking comedy Julie & Julia. The Sony release opens the same weekend as G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, so it will represent a nice little bit of counterprogramming.

Russell's most recent film, Nailed, is actually sitting on the shelf right now, and it may not find its way off. The political satire was plagued by financial problems and it has some crucial scenes that still need to be shot. Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel led the cast.

Pearce, Del Toro to Conquer Fear of 'Dark'

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:27:41 -0800

Source: THR

Reports today are saying that Guy Pearce is finalizing details to star with Bailee Madison and Katie Holmes in the upcoming Miramax film Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. Newcomer Troy Nixey will direct, based on a 1973 telefilm done by ABC. The script was written by Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins and production is set to begin in Ausstralia in July.

Pearce’s last major appearance on screen was with Don Cheadle in 2008’s Traitor, which managed only a meager $23.5 million in domestic grosses. Audiences can currently see Pearce in the critically acclaimed Summit release The Hurt Locker, now in limited release in the U.S.

Guillermo del Toro’s past scripts have included 2008's Hellboy 2: The Golden Army and 2006'sPan’s Labyrinth, both of which he directed, with the latter garnering multiple Oscar nominations including one for best original screenplay. The two films combined to generate over $110 million in ticket sales domestically.

Day For Knight

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:13:19 -0800

I don't know how I missed the memo on this, but few things have given me more pleasure so far this year than suddenly learning -- today, for heaven's sake -- that hero of my youth Christopher Lee was knighted by Queen Elizabeth on June 12th.

Hey -- that's SIR Christopher Lee to you folks from now on, okay?

Lee, of course, as is his wont, has been too busy to pay much attention to the honor; while awaiting the release of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland adaptation, featuring his turn as the Jabberwock (alongside Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter), Lee is currently hard at work in New Mexico on the forthcoming thriller The Resident with Hillary Swank, which by some counts will be his 221st(!) film.

In fact, Lee's been active in the movies since making his screen debut in Terence Young's Gothic romance, Corridor of Mirrors in 1948, but he's been a true star to the post-pubescent thrill seekers of my generation since his work as the definitive, cooly erotic Transylvanian count in the Hammer classic Horror of Dracula in 1958. More recently, he became a touchstone to a whole new contingent of sci-fi/fantasy fan geeks with his performances as Count Dooku in Star Wars and as the evil Saruman in The Lord of the Rings.

Anyway, while savoring the news of his knighthood, I started trying to come up with my fave Lee moments, a duanting task given the length and breadth of his career. And while his titular role in the justifiably parodied on MST3K Castle of Fu Manchu sprang immediately to mind, a few examples on a slightly higher esthetic level finally penetrated. (Three of them share a sort of common theme, as you'll see, and no, they're not really horror flicks, for all that Lee was typed as a screen scream icon).

The funniest, of course, was his 1978 guest apperance on Saturday Night Live and in particular the wonderful skit where he played Mr. Death, the Grim Reaper himself, coming to give the bad news to a little girl played by Larraine Newman. Newman was interviewed by Tom Snyder a few years later, and she told him that the SNL cast -- and especially the women (i.e., Jane Curtin and Gilda Radner) -- absolutely adored him, and that he had in fact been their all-time favorite guest host. I knew the feeling, actually.

Then, of course, there was Lee's starring role as the World's First Consulting Detective in the Anglo-German-Franco-Italian coproduction Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), an unintentionally surreal outing in which Holmes and Dr. Watson go up against arch-villain Dr. Moriarity (Hans Söhnker), who's plotting to steal some of Cleopatra's jewels, in a peculiar sort of period piece where you can't really tell what the period is; the art direction looks vaguely like the 1930s, but the story seems to take place in the Victorian era.

From Lee's autobiography:

“It was made in Spandau, with some location shots in Ireland, and it seemed fortune was smiling on our plans. Terence Fisher was over to direct, and a brilliant replica of 221B Baker Street was made on a German stage with everything so much in its place that Holmes’ redoubtable housekeeper wouldn’t have been able to fault it. Thorley Walters made an excellent Watson, and for Holmes there was me. I looked like him. And I was naturally brusque. We were backed by many eminent German actors. And the sum of it all was a mess.

In any case, Lee looks smashing as the Baker Street sleuth, and the film has genuine atmosphere to burn, but as with a number of his films of the era (say, an equally interesting sword and sandal epic like Mario Bava's great Hercules in the Haunted World) Lee's voice is dubbed by an actor whose identity has been lost in the mists of time. Like I said, unintentionally surreal, which is its charm.

Lee, of course, had been in an earlier, far superior Holmes movie in 1958, to wit, Hammer's adaptation of the often-filmed The Hound of the Baskervilles. The first Homes flick in color, the Hammer Baskervilles stars Lee as the scion of the possibly cursed Baskerville clan; the Holmes is his long-time real life friend and frequent co-star Peter Cushing, who's terrific. It's not the most faithful of all the adaptations to Conan-Doyle's source novel, and it's fairly studio-bound, but overall it has a certain something none of the other film versions has; it simply works, both as a Holmes-ian detective thriller and a Gothic spook piece.

And then, of course, there's the genuine masterpiece -- Billy Wilder's revisionist 1970 The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, this time with Lee as Sherlock's less ecentric but equally brilliant brother Mycroft.

That's Robert Stephens in the clip as Sherlock; the excellent Colin Blakely is Watson. As you can see, Wilder is out to subvert the canon ever so slightly -- his Holmes is supposed to be a more complex, morally ambiguous character than the one in Watson's (and Doyle's) accounts -- and while pretty much everybody now agrees that he succeeded, the film was a flop in its day, and there are significant chunks cut by the studio that are apparently lost forever. In any case, Lee is great in a pivotal role and if you haven't seen it, pounce.

You can order the Necklace here; Private Life, with as much of the lost footage as could be found restored, is available here. And the Hammer Baskervilles, in a gorgeous transfer with a nice bonus interview with Lee, can -- and definitely should -- be ordered here.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:03:58 -0800

Just a few weeks after the box office meltdown of another comical, prehistoric, Summer blockbuster (I refer to Land Of The Lost), we now get one that shows how it’s supposed to be done. Going to the well for the third time and adding tons more action and razor-sharp 3D, the Ice Age series proves it is far from extinct as it hits its stride with an irresistible and enormously fun third entry that earns dino-sized laughs and should again score big time at the box office and beyond.

Back with their now familiar peccadilloes, Manny (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo), Diego (Denis Leary), Ellie (Queen Latifah) and newcomer Buck (Simon Pegg) find themselves in the shadow of some scary dinosaur action when Sid, looking for some love and respect, decides to “adopt” three baby dinos who have just hatched. This of course causes ginormous problems with their very protective “real” mother as she takes the kids and Sid into dangerous territory. Soon the rest of the gang follows, even as their own problems take center stage. Ellie is pregnant, which means Manny (sweet, but not a multi-tasker) spends most days dealing with impending fatherhood while sabretooth tiger Diego has been emotionally defanged and is looking for a comeback. In addition to nervous-nelly Sid, Ellie’s possum kin, Eddie (Josh Peck) and Crash (Seann William Scott), are returnees from Ice Age The Meltdown. Joining everyone as they roam the valley of the dinos is an inspired new character, Buck, who is a sort of Errol Flynn pretender constantly having to outwit and outfight his main nemesis, a rather imposing white dinosaur. Voiced by British comedian Pegg, Buck is a wonderful addition to the tribe and a good bet to come back in future sequels—if there’s any justice at all.

This edition feels like it’s tripled the action quotient with one harrowing sequence after another (at least in ‘toon terms). The humor is as solid as always but no Ice Age has ever been quite this intense. The CGI animation from Blue Sky studios is, as always, top of the line and genuinely enhanced by strong 3D effects. In fact, unlike some other recent films, the 3D here has a purpose and is worth the extra bucks at the box office.

Beyond the jokes and the excitement, the Ice Age series will always be remembered for its engaging characters, which is led by droll Manny (voiced by Romano in the only decent movie part he’s ever had). Leguizamo turns Sid into a Zen-Jerry Lewis to amusing effect, while Leary once again steals the show as the conflicted and proud tiger, Diego. Latifah is a warm presence, while her possum brothers add to the fun. No Ice Age would be complete without the squirrel nutcase, Scrat (voiced by Exec Producer Chris Wedge) and here he makes a nice romantic “lead” in his own continuing storyline as he tries to find love with the improbable help of an old Lou Rawls soul song.

Kids are gonna love it all of course, but the good news is their parents may too. With Monsters Vs. Aliens and Up already proving there’s an endless appetite for blockbuster animation this year, this is another one for (all) the ‘Ages’.

Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Cast: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Bill Hader, Kirsten Wiig and Chris Wedge
Director: Carlos Saldanha and Michael Thermeier
Screenwriter: Michael Berg, Peter Ackerman, Mike Reiss and Yoni Brenner
Producers: Lori Forte and John C. Donkin
Genre: Animated Family Comedy
Rating: PG for some mild rude humor and peril.
Running Time: 93 min
Release Date: July 1, 2009

$200.1 Million in Five Days for ‘Transformers 2’

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:48:13 -0800

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen continued its tremendous start over the weekend. The sci-fi action film from Paramount and DreamWorks grossed $108.97 million over the weekend and $200.08 million in its first five days of release. The five-day start for Transformers 2 was the second largest of all-time, behind only the $203.77 million five-day start of The Dark Knight last July. The film’s opening weekend was easily the largest opening weekend of 2009 thus far and ranked as the seventh largest of all-time (it ranked as 15th largest of all-time when adjusted for ticket price inflation).

Although pre-release expectations for the film were enormous, Transformers 2 was able to surpass those expectations over the last few days. Through five days, Transformers 2 is running a whopping 50 percent ahead of the pace of the previous Transformers film and 43 percent ahead of Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix, both of which opened in July of 2007. Also of note is the fact that grosses for Wednesday and Thursday made up an extremely high 46 percent of the film’s five-day total. That stat and the immense size of the film’s five-day start, suggest that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be significantly more front-loaded than the previous Transformers film.

Disney’s The Proposal fell to second place with $18.58 million. The romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds was down 45 percent from last weekend. The film took a slightly larger than expected hit from new competition from Transformers 2 and Warner’s My Sister’s Keeper, but has still grossed a very solid $69.16 million in ten days of release. The Proposal is currently running 10 percent ahead of 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada. Look for the film to hold up well this week in the days leading up to the Fourth of July holiday.

After slowing some during the midweek, The Hangover rebounded nicely over the weekend. The comedy blockbuster from Warner Bros. grossed $17.02 million, which was down just 36 percent from last weekend. The film’s hold was one of the best among wide releases this weekend and was impressive given the presence of Transformers 2 in the marketplace. The Hangover has grossed $183.05 million in 24 days and will zoom past the $200 million mark next weekend.

Disney’s UP finished in fourth with $13.06 million. The acclaimed computer animated film was down 44 percent this weekend, which was by far the film’s biggest weekend percentage decline to date. UP was hurt this weekend by both Transformers 2 and from last weekend’s gross being inflated by terrific business on Father’s Day. UP has grossed $250.23 million in 31 days, making it the highest grossing film of 2009 to date domestically. However, UP will only be able to make that claim for a few days before it is passed up by Transformers 2.

My Sister’s Keeper opened in fifth place with $12.44 million. The drama starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin debuted in line with pre-release expectations. My Sister’s Keeper opened 8 percent below 2004’s The Notebook, which was also directed by Nick Cassavetes. However, that gap jumps to 20 percent when adjusting for ticket price inflation. My Sister’s Keeper opened with $5.10 million on Friday, but slowed down quite a bit as the weekend went on.

Sony’s Year One self-destructed in its second weekend of release. The Harold Ramis directed comedy starring Jack Black and Michael Cera slipped to sixth place after experiencing a 69 percent slide from last weekend. Year One has grossed $32.53 million in ten days and is on pace to finish its run with a very disappointing gross in the area of $40 million to $45 million.

Although it was playing in just 495 locations, Away We Go was able to claim tenth place. The Sam Mendes directed film from Focus grossed $1.71 million for the weekend, which brings the film’s 24-day total to $4.09 million.

This weekend’s combined box office of just over $200 million was up 7 percent over the same weekend last year and up a healthy 33 percent over last weekend.

Totally Deserving

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:51:30 -0800

I'm so happy that Away We Go was able to stand out among the summer blockbusters in order to crack the top 10 this weekend. The Focus release is only playing at 495 locations, so that's no small achievement.

It's kind of a bummer that the film is getting such mixed reviews from the critical community. I totally went for it. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph make a great pair, and they'll both have solid careers in film after starting in the world of television. As far as road trip movies go, Away is not the best by any means, but it works in a big way. Especially the sequences that find Krasinski and Rudolph in Montreal and Miami. Plus, the soundtrack is excellent. I bought it on iTunes as soon as I got home from the theater.

Director Sam Mendes has really gone outside of his comfort zone with Away, and you've got to respect that. I'm still not sure where I'd rank it in relation to American Beauty, Road to Perdition or Revolutionary Road (let's just forget Jarhead). It feels like Mendes is channeling Hal Ashby or Alexander Payne with Away and it's not full of doom and glood like his other flicks, so that makes it difficult to place. Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised.

'Lying' Trailer Lands Online

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:21:44 -0800

For his latest film, Ricky Gervais (Ghost Town) has assembled a very impressive ensemble. The Invention of Lying, which hits theaters on September 25, stars Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Jason Bateman, Louis C.K., Rob Lowe, Christopher Guest, Jeffrey Tambor and Tina Fey. The film focuses on a world in which nobody can tell a lie.

Gervais recently had a small supporting role in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which has grossed $163 million domestically since opening in May. Before that, Gervais appeared opposite Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni in Ghost Town, which won postive reviews but grossed only $13.4 million domestically.

Brüno Has a Thing for Australian PM?

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:06:55 -0800

Source: AP

Sacha Baron Cohen's newest character, Brüno, is apparently intrigued by Australia's Prime Minister.

Baron Cohen is previously known for his exploits as the titular Kazakh journalist Borat, a film that grossed $260 million worldwide. The comedic actor, speaking as Brüno, fondly recalled his time spent with Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd while in Sydney for the premiere of his newest film.

"That guy is like, uber cute. I thought Obama was, like, the hottest guy in the world until I met Kevin," he said.

Brüno will make its debut on July 10 in America, and July 8 in Australia. Check out our review of the film here.

McKenna Going to the 'Zoo'

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:46:14 -0800

Source: THR

Fox studios has signed up Aline Brosh McKenna for one of their recently acquired projects, according to reports. McKenna will be adapting a script for We Bought a Zoo, based on the memoir of the same name by author Benjamin Lee. Zoo tells the story of a family that purchases and renovates a zoo in England.

McKenna’s previous scripts include both 27 Dresses, which grossed an impressive $76 million in the U.S., as well as the 2006 comedy hit The Devil Wears Prada, which earned $324 worldwide. McKenna also penned the upcoming Morning Glory, scheduled for release in Summer 2010 starring Rachel McAdams and produced by Star Trek director J.J. Abrams.

More Oscar Changes

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:40:15 -0800

Fresh off the announcement that there will be 10 Best Picture nominees instead of five, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed that the recipients of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Honorary Award will have their own ceremony.

“For some years now, the Board has struggled to balance the desire to truly honor worthy individuals with the time limitations that the Oscar telecast imposes on these honors,” said Academy President Sid Ganis in an official statement. “By creating a separate event for recognizing these outstanding people in the movie industry, we’re insuring that each honoree will be given his or her full due, without compromise.”

The winners will still be acknowledged during the television broadcast.

A common complaint about the Oscar telecast is that it is too long, and with more Best Picture nominees in the mix other aspects of the show may need to be trimmed or done away with altogether.

Great Z-Movies of the Decade (An Occasional Series)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:35:19 -0800

So the other day I'm sitting in the darkened vastness of my local Hell Octaplex when the preview for the forthcoming (in November) and awkwardly monikered Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire appeared on the screen. I had two immediate visceral reactions -- 1) This film looks even less appealing, if that is possible, than that thing with Abigail Breslin and the bald chick with leukemia, and 2) The actress playing the minor role of a social worker looks oddly familiar.

Then the credits came up and I realized it was Mariah Carey. And I immediately flashed to another occasion in the very same Hell Octaplex when I had another couple of equally visceral reactions.

I refer, of course, to that magical moment in 2001 when I witnessed the singer/actress in Glitter, AKA Somebody Killed Her Career.

Ah, good times, at least for the ten or twelve people (in the Tri-State Metropolitan Area alone!) who actually bothered to see it. For the rest of us, here's the trailer for a little taste.

From my review at the time:

Contrary to what you may have heard, this monumentally ill-conceived vehicle for pop diva Mariah Carey's screen debut is not the worst lonely-at-the-top, inside-showbiz soap opera in film history. And therein lies the problem; instead of a camp trash wallow, à la VALLEY OF THE DOLLS or the Barbra Streisand version of A STAR IS BORN, it's a butt-numbing exercise in tedium, sporadically redeemed by moments of unintentional hilarity

The plot: Big-voiced kid Billie Frank (Carey) is abandoned by her seriously dysfunctional, jazz-singing mom and sent to a foster home, accompanied by a cute kitten that mysteriously disappears until a crucial second-act plot point that simply must be seen to be believed. A decade or so later, at an early '80s disco from hell, Billie is discovered by charismatic, aspiring-producer DJ Dice (Max Beesley). The duo eventually make it to the top of the music-business heap, despite the inevitable romantic misfortunes, industry back-stabbing and the threat of gratuitous violence (which, when it finally arrives, is way too little, way too late, dramatically speaking)...Again, contrary to what you may have heard, Carey can act after a fashion, though dialogue gives her trouble. But her performance alternates between two basic modes — a sort of porn-star, come-hither sexiness and a little-girl-on-the-verge-of-tears sulk — that get very old, very fast. On the plus side, while the script has its share of vintage clichés ("Don't blame me for your failure!"), it also invents some new ones, notably the scene in which Dice seduces Billie by playing the marimba. Aspiring screenwriters take note: The marimba gets 'em every time.

Strong and unminced words, I think you'll agree, and I stand by every one of them. In the meantime, astonishingly, you can still -- and absolutely should, immediately -- order a DVD of this total mishegass here.

You're welcome.

'Transformers 2' Hits $200M Plateau

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:10:53 -0800

DreamWorks and Paramount certainly have a reason to celebrate this weekend. Based on studio weekend estimates, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen grabbed a staggering $112 million this weekend, which brings its cume to $201.2 million since opening last Wednesday.

Last summer, The Dark Knight grossed $203.7 million in five days, so Transformers 2 will fell just shy of that mark. Considering that Knight received much stronger reviews, its unlikely that Transformers 2 will have nearly as much staying power. Still, this marks an incredibly strong opening for Michael Bay's film.

My Sister's Keeper debuted in 5th place with $12 million. That marks a pretty respectable debut for the drama, and Keeper should show some legs in the weeks to come.

The Proposal added $18.5 million during its sophomore frame, and it's just shy of the $70 million mark. Proposal is benefiting from solid word of mouth, and it still represents a strong alternative for audiences who are not enticed by typical summer blockbusters.

Overall box office receipts for the weekend should equal around $202 million, which puts it 8.3% ahead of 2008's corresponding weekend. 2009's domestic haul is now 12.2% ahead of 2008 at the exact same point in the year.

Check back tomorrow for weekend actuals.

Dueling Film Festivals and a Single Take Gamble

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:30:17 -0800

In LA, festival season hits its stride in June when the indie-curio festival Dances With Films sneaks in before the LA Film Festival to showcase films that can truly only be seen here first. (Unlike the rest of the local festivals which increasingly parrot the Sundance lineup or put the Michaels Bay and Mann center stage with blockbusters that will hit the multiplex as soon as the premiere pictures are uploaded.)

One of the most interesting festival flicks I've seen this month is a one-take comedy called The Last Hurrah. Legitimately a single, continuous shot, it's an ambitious -- and successful -- movie-making adventure. Writer-director Jonathan Stokes' debut tracks a gang of philosophy students through a high drama graduation party. It starts with croquet in the sunshine, but given the need to elevate the stakes (and breathalyzer levels), there's a middle stretch where the cameraman gratefully plunks the camera on a tripod and fast-forwards as the sun sets and the frustrations rise. Stokes' script is smart, quip-heavy and irreverent: there's a character named God and another dressed like Jesus. And the camerawork is as expertly timed as a ballet. Spying on three dudes arguing about one's emasculating girlfriend, the camera pivots to catch another partier downing a beer with no hands.

At Q&A, Stokes explained that the ensemble -- which queued next to him and stretched across the length of the screen -- rehearsed the lines and movement for several weeks and then spent five days shooting the whole film from daylight to drunken dance party. Five takes was much of a safety net as the low-budget production could afford. (Their favorite was take five.) A few nights later, I was down the street catching Michael Mann's new flick and found myself so irritated by its stiff airlessness that I wanted Mr. Mann to slip out of the projection booth (where rumor has it, his tinkerings were the reason the film started a toe-tappingly 45-minutes late) and catch a little film that had the all jazz and danger he'd sucked out of his mobsters. Film festivals are fueled by such contrasts, even if in the crowded and increasingly safe LA festival scene, you have to combine festivals to get it.

Weekly Anticipation Index

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:02:11 -0800

After the disappointing critical and commercial reception that Death Proof received, Quentin Tarantino is back with Inglourious Basterds, an unconventional World War II flick.

Basterds premiered at Cannes to a mostly positive reception. BOXOFFICE's Richard Mowe wrote that, "It may be too long and too talky for some audiences but it’s likely to score highly in the popularity stakes following its Cannes Film Festival bow."

The Weinstein Company needs Basterds to be a hit. The distributor has been plagued by one dud after the other, and they are facing serious financial issues. In 2008, they released such mediocre box office performers as Crossing Over, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? and My Blueberry Nights. Even The Reader was able to gross only $34 million domestically despite grabbing a Best Picture nomination and a Best Actress Oscar for Kate Winslet.

Tarantino has never topped the box office success of 1994's Pulp Fiction, which grossed $109 million domestically—$190 million when adjusted for inflation. Basterds is unlikely to do so, especially with a running time of nearly two and a half hours and the often lackluster drawing power of Brad Pitt pushing it forward.

Check out our prediction for Basterds as well as other major summer releases in the table below.

Weekly Anticipation Index, June 27, 2009
Title	Release Date	Distributor	Opening Weekend	Cumulative
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs	July 1	Fox	$60M	$220M
Public Enemies	July 1	Universal	$35M	$125M
Brüno	July 10	Universal	$45M	$120M
I Love You, Beth Cooper	July 10	Fox Atomic	$13M	$35M
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	July 15	Warner Bros.	$85M	$310M
G-Force	July 24	Disney	$33M	$118M
The Ugly Truth	July 24	Sony/Columbia	$25M	$80M
Funny People	July 31	Universal	$34M	$105M
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra	August 7	Paramount	$40M	$100M
Julie & Julia	August 7	Sony/ Columbia	$20M	$70M
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard	August 14	Paramount Vantage	$13M	$40M
The Time Traveler's Wife	August 14	Warner Bros./New Line	$14M	$43M
District 9	August 14	Sony	$17M	$53M
Shorts	August 21	Warner Bros.	$13M	$42M
Inglourious Basterds	August 21	The Weinstein Company	$25M	$70M

Additional reporting by Daniel Garris.

Selling 'Avatar'

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:37:07 -0800

Less than six months from now, one of the most highly-anticipated films in years will hit theaters - the 3D movie Avatar, from Aliens director James Cameron.

But you’d hardly know it from the complete lack of marketing in theaters, on television or in print.

Twentieth Century Fox and Cameron have been oddly silent in a world where hype is the main currency. The director recently showed 24 minutes of footage to a trade show crowd in Amsterdam, the first glimpse of the film Cameron announced he was working on as far back as 1996.

The film is slated to open December 18. But experts say the lack of advertising for the movie won’t hurt. In fact, it may even be part of the strategy to keep a lid on the movie as long as possible.

“Does a film need to be pushed ad nauseum in the months in-between? I'd argue that it does not,” says Bryan Laurel, director of marketing for the Harkins Theater chain, based in Arizona. “There's a risk of turning people off if they have seen six versions of a trailer over the course of six months. They feel like they have already seen the film by the time opening day arrives.”

Many big-budget films start as early as a year in advance to build “buzz” among moviegoers—often before a single frame of the film has been shot.

The teaser trailer for The Da Vinci Code was released in May 2005. The snippet showed a camera flying through what appeared to be deep stone crevices that, when the camera pulled back, were revealed to be tiny cracks in the Mona Lisa, the Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece that plays a key role in the book and the movie.

The film was released in May 2006 and was a smash hit, despite of, or perhaps because of, the early marketing push.

But Avatar is no ordinary film. It is being filmed using 3D cameras designed by Cameron himself, making it one of the first live-action films to be shot in 3D in years. Other technological innovations, including new forms of motion capture, are said to make the sci fi movie a stunning visual feast.

With such emphasis on the visual experience, making a compelling TV spot or poster has its challenges.

“It’s probably a tricky movie to sell,” says Jonathan Taplin, a professor at the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California. “It’s tricky to make a trailer with the full 3D effect.”

That kind of challenge, or Cameron’s well-known perfectionism, could lie behind the lack of a trailer. One report said Cameron has already vetoed eight trailers as he tries to find the best way to get his story across to moviegoers as well as the message that this film’s special effects are second to none.

Still, no one is worried that Cameron and Fox will have trouble drumming up business for the film.

“It’s got a lot of following in the sci fi geekdom,” Taplin says. “It’s probably best to hold back as long as you can or else it becomes ho hum.”

Taplin suggests that six weeks before a film’s opening is plenty of time to create anticipation among audiences. That’s a view shared by at least one theater chain.

“If marketing materials for Avatar make their way into theatres towards the end of the summer that's still four months of promotion for the film,” Laurel says. “If anything, Fox and James Cameron are creating that ‘must see’ factor that all studios and directors pray for every time they release a film. There's no need to panic. Something tells me Fox, Cameron and every exhibitor is going to be all right once December 18th rolls around.”

'Transformers 2' Headed for $200M

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:20:53 -0800

DreamWorks and Paramount certainly have a reason to celebrate this weekend. Based on BOXOFFICE.com's Early Weekend Estimates, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is on pace to reach the $200 million mark by the end of Sunday. According to Paramount, the sequel brought in $36.7 million on Friday after grabbing $89.2 million from Wednesday and Thursday combined.

Last summer, The Dark Knight grossed $203.7 million in five days, so it looks as though Transformers 2 will fall just shy of that mark. Considering that Knight received much stronger reviews, its unlikely that Transformers 2 will have nearly as much staying power. Still, this marks an incredibly strong opening for Michael Bay's film.

My Sister's Keeper also debuted this weekend, and it should grab $13.5 million. That marks a pretty impressive debut for the drama, and it should show some legs in the weeks to come.

The Proposal will grab around $19 million during its sophomore frame, which puts it close to $70 million domestically. The romantic comedy is benefiting from solid word of mouth, and it still represents a strong alternative for audiences who are not enticed by typical summer blockbusters.

Check back tomorrow for studio weekend estimates.

Brüno

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:13:31 -0800

The crown of the reigning king of bad taste must pass from John Waters to Sacha Baron Cohen. After Borat he pushes the envelope even further in Brüno with frontal nudity, graphic sex and Nazi jokes and much worse besides. It’s gross, offensive and puerile in equal measure—but it is impossible not to laugh while you wince and recoil. Prospects, despite the R rating (for pervasive strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity and language), must be rosy.

The pattern is the same as Borat, except this time Sacha Baron Cohen has created for himself a gay Austrian fashionista who sets off the States with his trusty German assistant to become, in his words, “the biggest gay movie star since Schwarzenegger.”

He finds himself at a loose end after he’s fired from his Austrian television show because he brought the house down, almost literally, when his Velcro outfit created a major incident at a fashion show in Milan.

So what does he get up to in Hollywood? He hosts a TV talk show with guests Paula Abdul and LaToya Jackson, who take to their heels after being served sushi from the body of a naked Mexican. There is a half-hearted attempt to go straight “just like Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kevin Spacey.” And he calls in a focus group to give their verdicts on a television show he has produced which is totally disgusting.

At one point he becomes chained to his assistant for a bit of bondage and then they try to board a bus—naked and unashamed. There’s a wrestling match in a cave and a swingers’ party that swings in unexpected directions. He tries to seduce Ron Paul, the former Presidential candidate, and there’s a hilarious scene when, acting as the producer of a film, he tells the proud parents of a prospective cast member that their son would be expected to dress as a Nazi and push a wheelbarrow into an oven. Its contents are a Jewish baby. The mother’s unrepentant response is: “That’s fine as long as he gets the gig.”

Much of the fun is to be derived from watching the consternation and reaction of those who are not in on the joke—but after Borat it’s clear many people are wiser and the makers may have had to work harder to spring the surprises.

Its crisp running time ensures that not a second feels labored, and there’s barely enough time to recover from one assault on the senses before another comes along to take your breath away.

Some audiences will embrace it all with a venom, others may shrink from the vulgarity—but whatever your persuasion, a smirk of some kind seems certain to appear from nowhere despite yourself and your better nature. The answer is probably to let it all hang out: our Sacha certainly does.

Distributor: Universal Pictures
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Richard Bey, Ron Paul, Paula Abdul, Domiziano Arcangeli, Emerson Brooks and Alice Evans
Director: Larry Charles
Screenwriters: Sacha Baron Cohen, Dan Mazer, Jeff Schaffer and Anthony Hines
Producers: Monica Levinson, Dan Mazer, Jay Roach and Sacha Baron Cohen
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R for pervasive strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity and language.
Running time: 83 min.
Release date: July 10, 2009

Life is Hot in Cracktown

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:08:36 -0800

Life is Hot in Cracktown is one part Crash and one part Menace II Society. The central narrative revolves around a welfare hotel located in Any Ghetto, U.S.A., except this ghetto is far too diversely populated to really be—anywhere—in the USA, and the crack heads are too good looking. Brandon Routh (aka: Superman) plays a heroine addict, but he’s still too good looking. Nevertheless, the film is captivating in its ability to generate pathos for even its most lowly of characters (of which there are many). If recent trends away from darker films prevail (see box office revenues: Observe & Report versus Paul Blart for instance) these vignettes will not inspire summer moviegoers hopped-up on spring movie pollen. They’ll be looking for cinema with heroes and champions the likes of those found in the upcoming Transformers sequel or the live action G.I. Joe.

Based on his titular bestselling novels, writer/director Buddy Giovinazzo's tale of urban strife kicks off with a gang rape in broad daylight on a dirty mattress—then things get mean. The stories flow languidly (despite moments of intense drama that permeate almost every narrative frame) from one to the other, each knit to the next and the last by some character or circumstance. Romeo, played by Evan Ross, whose almost feminine good looks belie his ability to menace, is a young inner-city kingpin on the way up—and down. Marybeth (Kerry Washington) is a pre-operative transsexual with a boyfriend, “working” her way to her “true self.” Manny (Victor Rasuk) and Concettra (Shannyn Sossamon) are a young couple who live in the midst of this insanity with their constantly crying baby. Again, all of these people are too beautiful to be any of these characters, but whatever. They’re all good, and the writing is the stuff that urban dramas are made of, even if none of the actual actors in Life is Hot in Cracktown are.

Distributor: Lightning Media
Cast: Evan Ross, Shannyn Sossamon, Brandon Routh, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kerry Washington, Illeana Douglas, Victor Rasuk and RZA
Director/Screenwriter: Buddy Giovinazzo
Producers: Larry Rattner and William D. Fisch
Genre: Drama
Rating: Rated R for strong violence, rape, drug content throughout, graphic sexuality, nudity and pervasive language.
Running time: 100 min
Release date: June 26 NY

$89.25 Million for ‘Transformers 2’ in Two Days

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:53:31 -0800

Paramount’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen continued its exceptional start on Thursday by grossing $28.62 million for the day. The highly anticipated sequel from director Michael Bay was down 53 percent from Wednesday’s massive debut. That marked a smaller second-day decline than the 58 percent slide 2007’s Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix experienced, which is especially impressive when considering Transformers 2 topped the Wednesday opening day record of Harry Potter 5 by a sizable 37 percent.

Transformers 2 has grossed $89.25 million in 2 days, which places it 43 percent ahead of Harry Potter 5 and 36 percent ahead of 2007’s Transformers (when including grosses from the initial Monday evening performance of Transformers). By the end of the weekend, the five-day gross for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen should fall somewhere in the area of $190 million to $210 million, which means the film has a chance of topping the $203.77 million five-day start of The Dark Knight last July.

The Proposal remained in second place with $3.64 million. The romantic comedy from Disney was down 9 percent from Wednesday. Most holdovers were down noticeably from Wednesday, which is understandable given the second-day strength of Transformers 2, as well as the non-stop news coverage of the death of Michael Jackson. Despite sizable slides each of the past two days, The Proposal grossed a better than expected $50.58 million in its first week of release and will likely hold up well over the next few weeks.

Warner’s The Hangover continued to slow some on Thursday, as the film was down 8 percent from Wednesday and down a sharp 45 percent from last Thursday. However, for the week The Hangover still grossed $39.97 million, which was down just 26 percent thanks to the tremendous hold it experienced last weekend. The Hangover has grossed $166.03 million through three weeks of release, and could stabilize again once the rush-out for Transformers 2 slows down.

Disney’s UP remained in fourth place yesterday with $2.51 million. The 3D computer animated blockbuster from Pixar was down 7 percent from Wednesday and down 36 percent from last Thursday. UP grossed $34.40 million for the week, representing a 25 percent decrease from the previous week. UP has grossed $237.17 million in four weeks and will likely cross the $250 million mark on Sunday.

Sony’s Year One rounded out the daily top five for a second straight day on Thursday. The Harold Ramis directed comedy was down a steep 18 percent from Wednesday, which marked the third straight troubling daily slide for the film. Year One grossed $26.51 million in its first week in theatres, with a very unhealthy 32 percent of its seven-day gross having been registered on the film’s opening day. Look for Year One to experience a massive decline this weekend.

Rebirth of a Nation

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:45:46 -0800

Taking the house party out of the house isn’t exactly virgin territory. Movies (some of the XXX variety) are often projected on white sheets at parties with dance tracks spun over them. But few would dare loop beats over a politically incorrect (albeit groundbreaking) film like Birth of a Nation. Artist and musician Paul D Miller aka DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid took the dive. In his re-mastering Miller places D.W. Griffith’s three-hour Civil War epic in his crosshairs. The effort works to infiltrate the movie-watching experience. And while handprints and scratches to the original are quite distinct, there’s not too much tampering to scramble its message. A large coterie of head bobbers and those unfamiliar with the heavy-laden silent film will get a cursory look replete with a moody score and a superfluous voiceover to counterbalance the incendiary overtones.

To understand Rebirth it’s pivotal to conjure D.W. Griffith’s original for context. Based on Thomas Dixon’s injurious tome, The Clansman, Birth represented the Southern landscape in many ways—though the film’s literal Southern landscape, especially the lithograph inspired battle sequences, were shot in the San Fernando Valley. Supremacist in nature, the work is a technical triumph. Griffith seamlessly installed multiple advanced editing techniques into the storytelling: dramatic close-ups butt heads with suspenseful cross-cutting. The three-hour tour (that’s 12 reels!) is quite a lot to get through in one sitting and therefore is in no way immune to Miller’s ruthless edit.

Complex themes abound in Birth of a Nation: The Civil War pits kin against kin, rampant racism, reverse-racism, slander and mockery through minstrel means, heavy distortion of the truth all cooked-up on-screen to shape and stir a scarred population, North or South. No doubt this is why Miller decided to dust off the oldie and play the role of DJ-as-director. Much in the way Miles Davis deconstructed the status quo jazz scene with his legendary Birth of Cool album, Miller is also going for a shake-up. A jolt that pushes some buttons. Not only does he replace Griffith’s signatured borders with his own initials, he rebrands the film with a new score and minimally tampers with the evidence by using freeze frames and animation to play on moments. Characters become holograms pulled out of the scene in almost 3-D fashion, their counterparts blurred in the background. At other times, the material is left alone, untouched.

The film is risqué. Booting “Dixie” in favor of a harmonica with a booming beat we see black slaves entertain their white masters with a jig—this is just an example of the film’s radical rewiring. The filmmakers opt for handholding and its most unsettling and intrusive effects involve narrator Richard Davis. He may be pleasant and eloquent but there is no need for commentary when the super titles already do the legwork. It’s disturbing that the filmmakers feel the need to speak to the audience with scripted additives. Is it to ensure the director’s message is spelled out? What’s offered is a set of rhetorical questions that teeter on hyperbole and overkill. This does sincere harm to the modern version; it discounts the overall value behind the project and undermines the film’s initial empowering role to inspire the audience to think for themselves.

Despite its verbose flaws, the work is a succinct sampling of performance-art-meets-multimedia. When the film is left to its own devices and giddied-up by the scratching and booming base there’s genuine verve jumping off the screen.

D.W. Griffith in a smoking room responds rhetorically when asked if the film he just made is true and he counters, “What is truth?” Paul D. Miller intends to try and answer that through this face-planting exercise that flips and twists the original (at times the chronology of the film is dramatically exploited) to make issue of how not much has changed. That media coverage is all about winning the hearts and minds, and that the power of the role of the filmmaker (or musician or TV creator or Web producer or otherwise) can never be taken lightly.

Rebirth of a Nation tries to counteract what some could say was an appalling show, glorifying the ignorance of a sect of bitter people humiliated by the reconstruction post-Civil War. Maybe whites were persecuted after the inglorious stain on this country’s record. Maybe the Ku Klux Clan had, for a fragment of a second, some rationale to organize. But Miller justly reassembles the film, demystifying its red-hued screens and grounding the fantastic depiction of white southerners as heroes to sea level. Griffith’s original film wows with advanced tricks but is a wounded stag that deserves to be put out of its misery. Somebody had to tell it and thankfully it was an auteur with the semblance and skill to do so without causing the original any further hemorrhage. The DJ’s improvisational playing on cinema has staying power and could seed a new genre.

Distributor: Starz Media
Director/Screenwriter: Paul D. Miller A.K.A. DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid
Producer: John W. Hyde and Paul D. Miller
Genre: Art Installation
Rating: Unrated
Running time: 100 min
Release date: June 22 NY

Surveillance

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:32:36 -0800

It’s been sixteen years between movies but with her latest weird and edgy thriller, director Jennifer Lynch proves she hasn’t lost the surrealistic eye she exhibited in her first feature, 1993’s Boxing Helena. With a plot revolving around a police investigation into a series of brutal murders and the wildly divergent eyewitness accounts of a rouge cop, whacked-out junkie and an 8 year old girl, Surveillance is one of those movies that twists and turns in unexpected and not always logical ways. Fans of the director and her father, David Lynch (who serves as Executive Producer), will eat it up, but for most audiences it’s definitely an acquired taste. Expect some fast cash from a limited theatrical release followed by bountiful returns from a quick turnaround to DVD.

The basic setup, although quirky, does not lead us to suspect we are about to enter the incoherent territory of these Lynchian enterprises. Two federal officers, Elizabeth Anderson (Julia Ormond) and Sam Hallaway (Bill Pullman), arrive at a sheriff’s office to investigate a particularly gruesome set of roadside murders. They’re immediately perplexed by the differing accounts of odd eyewitnesses, including an overly zealous officer (co-writer Kent Harper), a junkie named Bobbi (Pell James) and a pigtailed young girl, Stephanie (Ryan Simpkins), who’s family was recently slain.

The fun of this picture, which at times resembles Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers, is the zig-zagging use of real time to create a puzzle of a mystery, one that, until the final third, is shot in the style of a sizzling hot detective thriller. A big twist near the end pretty much destroys all credibility but brings with it the kind of kinky sequences we normally expect from the Lynch clan. Whether the audience is willing to go along will be the test of success for this intriguing, low-budget flick.

Performances are outstanding across the board, with Pullman creating a uniquely individual investigator demonstrating strange work habits. Ormond handles her tricky role with aplomb and James is terrific as a rather unpredictable witness to terror. As her druggie cohort Johnny, Mac Miller is appropriately slimy, while Simpkins as young Stephanie brings a truly haunted quality to her performance. As her mother, SNL’s Cheri Oteri effectively goes dramatic. Harper is super as the high-strung cop whose partner French Stewart is every bit as outrageous. There’s also good work from Michael Ironside as the police captain who puts the whole case in motion.

Lynch’s decade and a half absence from feature directing doesn’t show and although some of her film is grossly uneven, she pulls off several stunning set pieces and knows her way around this kind of thing as well as anybody—even dear old dad. He must be bursting with pride that she inherited his talent for the bizarre.

Distributor: Magnet Releasing
Cast: Bill Pullman, Julia Ormond, Cheri Oteri, Michael Ironside, Ryan Simpkins, Kent Harper, French Stewart, Mac Miller, Pell James and Hugh Dillon.
Director: Jennifer Chambers Lynch
Screenwriter: Kent Harper and Jennifer Chambers Lynch
Producers: Kent Harper, David Michaels and Marco Mehlitz
Genre: Thriller
Rating: R, for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some drug use and a scene of aberrant sexuality.
Running time: 97 min
Release date: June 26 ltd.

The Hurt Locker

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:02:19 -0800

It has been nearly 20 years since director Kathryn Bigelow’s last bona fide box office hit, 1991's Point Break, grabbed $43.2 million domestically. Since then, 1995's Strange Days and 2002's K-19: The Widowmaker were disappointments, while 2000's The Weight of Water did not come near to earning back its estimated $16 million budget, bringing in a paltry $109 thousand domestically. The director of muscular action movies needs a hit badly and she just might get it with her visceral gut-punch of a war drama, The Hurt Locker, the story of an army bomb disposal unit trying to survive the final weeks of its tour in Baghdad. With its meaty, intelligent story and a plethora of violent pyrotechnics, it is the rare kind of movie that has plenty to appeal to fans of action and drama alike. But to succeed it will have to overcome the reluctance of filmgoers to embrace Iraq war movies—and that’s a reluctance that’s has doomed nearly every movie on the subject to the box office scrap heap.

The drama starts with a bang when the soldiers who spend their days clearing the streets of improvisational explosive devices (IEDs) in Baghdad are lifted off their feet by an exploding bomb. With only 38 days left in their rotation, the primary mission for Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) is simply to stay alive long enough to make it back home. Complicating that is their new boss, Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner), a soldier seemingly impervious to both peril and common sense, who leads his men into impossible situations.

Screenwriter Mark Boal was a war correspondent in Iraq who covered a bomb disposal unit there, which may explain why a film so filled with action and unending suspense eventually emerges as more of a character-driven drama. The film is full of the day-to-day detail of what these men do. One scene finds James intricately defusing a car bomb while Sanborn and Eldridge frantically scan the surrounding buildings for the terrorist who may hold a detonator.

But at the same time, Boal is just as interested in what makes these men tick. The story's canvas is large but Boal keeps his focus small, throwing a spotlight on these three men and most especially on James. James is a man fighting wars on all fronts, so doggedly determined to march to his own tune that he alienates the men around him. Ignoring danger he rushes headlong into action, exponentially increasing risk for himself and his team. He has a life waiting for him back in the States, including a baby, but his service has upended all that. Some soldiers in the Vietnam war came back home addicted to heroin, but the monkeys on James’ back in this 21st century conflict are adrenalin and the suspicion that the skills he's honed in Iraq have no place in civilian life. Character actor Renner, perhaps best known for his Independent Spirit Award-nominated turn in Dahmer, delivers what may be a career-making performance as this undoubtedly courageous but also foolhardy man.

Jordan substitutes for Iraq and Bigelow and her team have done a fantastic job of recreating the conditions of a country under siege where threats lurk around every corner and even children become pawns in the war machine. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd's constantly roving camera further ratchets up the tension. Visually, The Hurt Locker is a stunner, but what makes it so different from the Iraq movies that came before are not its riveting images, forceful performances or engrossing story, but the film’s stance. It is not so much that Bigelow and Boal are apolitical; it is simply that they let the tale speak for itself. The Hurt Locker does not present the Iraq war as something to be for or against, but simply as something that is. Bigelow does not stint on portraying war's brutality, but the focus is strictly on the individual, not on the bigger picture, and the overall effect is more powerful and devastating for it.

Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes and Brian Geraghty
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Screenwriter: Mark Boal
Producers: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro
Genre: War drama
Rating: R for war violence and language.
Running time: 130 min
Release date: June 26 NY/LA, July 10 ltd., July 24 Exp.

Ripe for a Biopic

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:54:20 -0800

Until this week, Hollywood hasn’t considered the life of Michael Jackson worthy of a big-budget biopic. Sure, we’ve seen countless Jackson imitators on screens big and small, most recently with Diego Luna playing the part in Harmony Korine’s Mister Lonely.

But with the shocking death of Jackson Thursday at the age of 50 all that may change.

How could Hollywood resist telling the remarkable story of one of music’s most innovative—and maddeningly eccentric—talents? Jackson’s life story screams out for a thoughtful, dynamic biopic, although any such feature would likely pale compared to Jackson’s oversized talents.

John Wildman, head of press and public relations for AFI, says the template already exists for a biopic of this size and stature.

The hokey television treatments we’ve seen in the past are outdated, Wildman says.

“The success of films like Ray and W. show that feature films and top directors can take these subjects seriously and really give the legitimate care they deserve,” he says.

Wildman suspects name actors would line up for the role.

“It screams award consideration if it got the proper treatment,” he says.

Jackson’s life affords more than enough for a half dozen biopics, but the mystery behind his activities could lend itself to an unconventional approach.

“One way would be a warts and all look pulling the curtain back on him,“ he says. “Or, it could be the type of symbolic treatment to use him as a conduit to describe our celebrity culture.”

Jenelle Riley, National Film and Television Editor for Back Stage Magazine, says Jackson’s tragic death mirrors the path many directors take when making a musical biopic.

“That’s the way the biopic ends, with either a huge comeback or the death of the performer,” Riley says.

Casting the lead role would certainly be a challenge. Apply too much makeup and it looks like a caricature. But how else can Hollywood recreate Jackson?

“You’d have to get a newcomer. Choose anyone else, and you’d be seeing an imitation,” she says. “I don’t think anyone established would want to touch it.”

The actor wouldn’t necessarily have to sing like Jackson. Any biopic would likely dub in the singer’s iconic high notes.

“He’d have to have that undeniable star quality rather than the great voice,” she says.

Choosing the right director might be even more difficult. Riley suggests Taylor Hackford, who brough Ray Charles to life with Ray and previously produced La Bamba.

If not Hackford, then perhaps a “gritty” indie director, like Steven Soderbergh, who can explore Jackson’s performing career—and his sundry demons.

“There’s a lot of material there,” adds Riley.

Audiences in the millions snatched Jackson’s records off the shelves for decades. Riley suspects crowds will reappear to see Jackson brought back to life in movie theaters.

“Would they line up to see it? I think so, unless it was universally reviled by critics,” she says.

'Enemies' Reaction

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:07:35 -0800

I caught a screening of Public Enemies last night at the AMC Loews on 84th St. in Manhattan. It was at 6:30 p.m., so the whole rush of Michael Jackson news was just beginning as I walked into the theater. Being in a room full of media professionals as it was going on was certainly interesting.

"TMZ has called it that he's dead," said one journo.

"I'm waiting for the New York Times to confirm it," said another.

We were all supposed to have turned off our Blackberries and iPhones, but nobody did until right before the movie started. This is the first shocking celebrity death in the age of Facebook and Twitter, and I'll always have a story to tell since I was in the Big Apple when it happened.

Anyway, Public Enemies is certainly not Michael Mann's best film of the decade. I still think that Collateral and Ali are slightly superior, and it doesn't touch his older work. My opinion certainly could change, because I still intend on catching the midnight showing next week.

Parts of Enemies are excellent, and some parts really lag. Although, to Mann's credit, he wraps everything up with one hell of a finale that owes a little bit to Barry Levinson's Bugsy. I didn't walk out of the theater feeling cheated, but I was far from blown away. It also doesn't help that Dante Spinotti's digital cinematography is distracting at times.

As far as mainstream audiences go, I think the presence of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale will ensure a pretty strong opening weekend. After that, the film will drop a little quicker than most summer flicks. Mann is just too contemplative and moody for casual moviegoers. Still, audiences will enjoy Depp's performance. He's far from being in Captain Jack mode here, but he still has fun with subtle facial movements and brilliantly executed dry dialogue.

'Uncharted' Plotting a Course for Theaters

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:50:37 -0800

Source: THR

The Hollywood rollout of video game adaptations continues, with Columbia announcing they are developing a flick based on the acclaimed Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Scribe Kyle Ward has been hired to draft a script, with Avi Arad, Ari Arad, Charles Roven, and Alex Gartner all producing. Uncharted follows fortune hunter Nate Drake and his adventurous run-ins with an assortment of dangers and perils, not unlike the Indiana Jones series.

Ward is no stranger to video game adaptations, having already penned the script for Kane & Lynch for Lionsgate pictures and as well writing the recently announced Hitman 2.

Primarily known for their work with Marvel Comics film adaptations, the Arad brothers last two projects, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man went on to gross over $453 million combined at American box offices last year.

'Valentines Day' Adds Three to Cast

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:50:19 -0800

Source: THR

Topher Grace, Emma Roberts and Hector Elizondo have signed on to cement New Line’s star-studded cast for Valentine’s Day, a Garry Marshall-directed romantic comedy penciled for a February 2010 release.

The trio of thesps joins Julia Roberts—Emma’s aunt—Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Shirley MacLaine, Ashton Kutcher and Bradley Cooper in Marshall’s latest rom-com. Anne Hathaway, who collaborated with the director in both Princess Diaries features, will also star.

Much like 2009’s He’s Just Not That Into You, the film contains interweaving stories about five couples and their respective relationship problems. Into You totaled $94 million domestically after its February 5 release, but Marshall’s picture is slated to open in U.S. theatres just two days (February 12) before the actual Valentine’s Day.

Marshall last helmed Georgia Rule, which picked up a disappoinging gross of $18.9 million in 2007. Grace appeared in Spider-Man 3 two years ago, while Roberts is known for her title role in 2007's Nancy Drew. As for Elizondo, Valentine’s Day will mark his 16th pairing with Marshall since 1982.

'Brüno' Getting Cut?

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:10:21 -0800

Source: Risky Biz Blog

Following saddening reports yesterday afternoon that pop megastar Michael Jackson died tragically, Universal Pictures made the decision to cut a scene from their upcoming comedy Brüno that specifically mentions Jackson by name and involves his sister, LaToya. The studio made the decision apparently mere hours before the film’s Los Angeles premiere out of respect for Jackson and his family.

As of this report, it appeared that this decision would be applied as well to national releases of the film, scheduled for July 10th this year. The move will likely be very costly for the studio.

Bruno is the new mocumentary from British star Sacha Baron Cohen, who grabbed serious box office success with Borat: Cultural Learnings for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. That film went on to gross more than $128 million domestically.

'Amelia' Trailer Lands Online

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:06:14 -0800

Fresh off the announcement that there will be 10 Best Picture nominees next year, the trailer for Amelia, a serious contender for such recognition, has landed online.

The Fox Searchlight release focuses on the life of female aviator Amelia Earhart, who is played by Hilary Swank. The actress has been nominated twice for Best Actress—Boy's Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby—and she won both times. Amelia also stars Richard Gere, Ewan McGreggor and Virginia Madsen.

This won't be the first time this year that Earhart has appeared in a mainstream film. Amy Adams played a resurrected museum statue of the pilot in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which has grossed $159 million domestically.

Amelia is set to hit theaters on October 23.

Janet Jackson Returns to 'Married' Life

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:00:37 -0800

Source: Variety

Janet Jackson, known for her role in movies such as Poetic Justice, which grossed $27.5 million domestically, and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, which grossed $162 million worldwide, will reportedly star in Tyler Perry's film, Why Did I Get Married Too?

The new project is a sequel to Perry's Why Did I Get Married?, which ended up grossing $55.2 million domestically. Jackson will reprise her role from the original film.

Lionsgate announced in March that they obtained the rights to Why Did I Get Married Too? and I Can Do Bad All By Myself. Perry is writing, producing and directing both projects, with the latter to see release on September 11, and the former expected to debut on April 2, 2010.

Janet Jackson will no doubt be hounded by the media after the recent passing of her brother, Michael Jackson.

Focus To Release 'Boat'

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:34:49 -0800

Source: Variety

Focus will reportedly take over domestic distribution responsibilities from Universal on The Boat That Rocked. The film, which stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy, will now hit theaters in November rather than August. Boat will also be around 20 minutes shorter. Check out review of the initial cut of the film here.

Focus has a solid slate of films set for release this year including the animated flick 9 and A Serious Man from the Coen Brothers.

Hoffman is coming off a modest year in 2008. Doubt won the thesp a Best Supporting Actor nomination, and it grossed a respectable $33.4 million domestically. Synecdoche, New York won some solid critical raves, but audiences didn't show up and it grossed only $3 million domestically.

Weekend Cinema Listomania (Special Hindsight is Golden Edition)

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:22:43 -0800

Video Event of the Week: Is it Sony's new Blu-ray restoration of Stanley Kubrick's Cold War black comedy Dr. Strangelove? Could the Criterion Collection's version of Louis Malle's neurotic talkfest My Dinner With Andre possibly make the cut? Or against all reason and standards of decency, could MGM's DVD of Steve Martin attempting (and failing) to channel the spirit of Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther 2 conceivably be The One?

All worthy, to be sure (well, not that last), but for my money, it's got to be the rediscovered and restored original director's cut of Hal Ashby's 1982 Lookin' to Get Out, starring Jon Voight, Ann-Margaret, Burt Young, and Voight's then seven-year-old daughter Angelina Jolie in her first film role.

If you've never heard of this one, it's not particularly a surprise. Ashby was battling personal demons after his 70s successes with Coming Home and Shampoo, and by the time he started working on this Las Vegas caper film (co-written by Voight, incidentally), he was hanging out with the Rolling Stones, something that in 1981 would definitely be hazardous to your health. His behavior was growing increasingly erratic and he had notorious scuffles with the studio (Lorimar); eventually, they took the film out of his hands and recut it. The result, by all accounts something of a mess, limped in and out of theaters more or less before anybody noticed.

Voight still believed in the film, however, and years later, while speaking at the University of Southern California, he discovered that the version of it that had been shown to the students wasn't the theatrical flop but rather Ashby's original cut (which had been presumed lost). Voight, then otherwise engaged in ranting against the Obama administration and playing a rightwing lunatic on the most recent season of 24, somehow found the time to interest Warner Bros. in the rediscovered version of his collaboration with Ashby, and voila -- this new DVD, which has been visually and sonically refurbished to within an inch of its life.

I don't want to oversell this; it's not a major work on the order of the aforementioned Shampoo or Ashby's still remarkable Being There, and although I have no doubt that the new version plays better than the theatrical cut (which I confess I've never seen) Lookin' to Get Out still feels a bit out of time; it's a very personal echt 70s sort of shaggy dog story washed up on the shores of a decade that had other priorities. That said, it's often very funny, and the cast is great, particularly the perennially underappreciated Ann Margaret, who's about as radiant as it gets here.

The new DVD comes with a new interview with Voight and co-writer Al Schwartz, which lays out the film's troubled history in rather amusing detail, as well as the original theatrical trailer.

Bottom line: You can -- and on balance, should -- pre-order it here.

And now, because things are going to be relatively quiet around here until Monday, here's a fun and obviously relevant project for us all to contemplate --

Best or Worst Re-Release Rethink of a Movie, Classic or Otherwise!!!!

And my totally top of my head Top Five is:

5. Apocalypse Now Redux (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)

Coppola's 2001 restoration, with 49 minutes of previously deleted stuff, including an absolutely brilliant sequence on a French plantation that may or may not be inhabited by spirits of the dead. A masterpiece rendered even more masterful.

4. The Hidden (Jack Sholder, 1987)

The Citizen Kane of body-switching alien slug movies. Seriously -- this is a vastly entertaining little sci-fi thriller, with terrific performances and a witty script, and at 96 minutes, a gratifyingly taut piece of work. But for some reason, when it was released on VHS in 1990, somebody thought it would be a neat idea to pad it out with almost two hours of extra footage.

3. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)

The 1998 reissue, re-edited according to Welles wishes as expressed in a long and famous memo he wrote to Universal back in the day. In a word: Wow.

2. Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 1960)

The 1991 restoration has 14 minutes of new footage, including (best of all) a major league gay scene between Lawrence Olivier and Tony Curtis; the soundtrack was lost, somehow, so Olivier's voice is dubbed by Anthony Hopkins, who did a wicked impression of Sir Larry in his student days.

And the numero uno revisionist take on a film or flick, please don't give me any grief on this one, quite obviously has to be --

1. The Maltese Falcon: Colorized (John Huston, 1941; Ted Turner, 1987)

When this crime against nature was released on tape, Ted Turner famously responded to howls of outrage from cineastes and sane people by repying "Last time I looked, they're my movies," a statement that pretty much defines Philistinism. Ted and TCM have done yeoman work on film restoration since then, so I've obviously forgiven him. But really -- the colorized Falcon was appalling, and believe me, it didn't look anything like that poster. Bogart's hair was a bilious shade of green, for starters.

Awrighty then -- what would your choices be?